Above and Below
by SmugBoi
Summary: He had let his world succumb. Now it's up to Akira Kurusu to save a new world by vanquishing the otherworldy desires coming straight from heaven and hell. Will he be able to steal the hearts of actual demons, angels and gods?
1. Chapter 1

It was dark.

He had felt it all go in a flash. The ground disappearing under him, the screams and shouts around him turning into distant whispers, the light fading away. The supportive cries from the masses down below were deafened as the rays of control shook the earth. He remembered how his face fell when he witnessed the chaos as he looked around. A short glimpse of his precious friends was the last parting gift he got. As Yaldabaoth established his ''control'' over humanity, the world as he knew it collapsed, disappearing right in front of his very eyes.

And he collapsed along with it.

Further and further he fell down the hole. His body was bruised and battered, yet his face knew no expression. The pain he felt could not be expressed through a simple scrunching of the lips or furrowing of the brows. His heart burned with sorrow and regret, and their failure — no, _his — _would forever be etched into his brain. And now he'd have to carry this back-breaking burden, all by himself.

Then he arrived.

As he fell through the darkness, there was nothing. But he knew that he was heading somewhere. Was it not only logical to convince himself that there was a light at the end of the tunnel? What else could he do?

The space was circular, much like the Velvet Room. The difference was that his prisoner's uniform was replaced by his tattered casual outfit, and the only chains that bound him were the chains of regret. Though there were similarities, mainly the desk in the middle with a man sitting behind it.

He had to admit, if that man had replaced Igor the first time he came to the Velvet Room, the experience would've been a lot less disturbing. Being the complete opposite of Igor, the man was tall, handsome, and didn't look like he had a severe lack of sleep. His hair was white, much like Igor's, but it was combed to the side and there was a greater amount of hair in general in comparison to Igor's balding head. His eyes were narrow and his pupils purple, and he stared towards the ceiling, seemingly unaware of the fact he had company. If he didn't know better, he could've mistaken the man for a shadow from a twisted and rich palace.

The man soon turned in his chair, straightening his black coat and dusting himself off. His lips curved from a straight line into a smile. He did not know whether the man was smiling out of happiness, whether he was taunting him or whether he was plain twisted.

''So you have come, Akira Kurusu,'' the man spoke, his deep voice echoing through the chamber.

Akira walked forward towards the desk, his mind steeled yet his legs shaking with each step. If he was not dead, he still had something to do. And his body could only shudder in excitement and shake in fear at the prospect of it.

''Is everyone gone?''

The man chuckled at Akira's question, and leaned back in his chair. ''You're quite the straightforward one. But yes, the world you knew has been destroyed. The false god that could not gain control over the chaos known as humanity, chose to erase it as a solution. Not the most tactful of plans, but it worked out for him I guess…''

His heart fell further into darkness. He already knew that nothing was going to be okay, but knowing that he definitely had sealed the fate of humanity and his friends expanded the void within him.

''Oh my, is that the face of a trickster filled with regret?'' The man leaned forward, resting his face on his hands. ''But you're still here. You weren't cleaned off the slate like the others. Does that mean you still have unfinished work to do, or would you rather be reunited with your friends in the afterlife?''

He'd love that, in all honesty. But he couldn't. Forsaking what they fought for would be like spitting on their sacrifices. He'd have to continue alone, but he knew the bonds he had formed would keep his mind focused and his heart strong.

''No,'' Akira proclaimed, ''I can't do that. If I'm still here I'll continue until I'm done. I'll do it for my justice, for _our _justice.''

The man's unidentifiable smile turned into a grin.

''Fantastic.''

The man hopped off his chair, and only then Akira realized how tall the man actually was. He barely reached the man's shoulder. The man waltzed around Akira in circles, his grin plastered onto his face.

''Well, you might've been fooled once, but that won't happen twice,'' the man spoke, still walking around Akira. ''The Metaverse is still around, in a way. Corrupted and twisted desires have taken form in ways you couldn't imagine in your most fearsome nightmares. If you stop it this time, the current world will be saved. No more palaces, no more shadows, no more chaos. Easy as pie, right?''

''Do I… have to fight it again?''

The confrontation itself didn't worry him that much. It was more the fact that he would be doing it all by himself this time. Even with all the powers he could harness, fighting against a god was something you'd want help with.

''In all honesty? Most likely not,'' the man answered, much to Akira's surprise. ''This world is rather different from what you used to know, and it would make sense for whatever causes the distortions in hearts to take a different shape as well.''

''Then just tell me what I need to do, and I'll get to it.''

The man stopped walking, halting right in front of Akira. He gazed straight into his eyes, with his smile still remaining. ''You have a real passion for this, kid. I like that.'' The man rubbed his hands together, and laughed out loud again. ''Then there's nothing holding us back anymore. We shall get started right away,'' the man announced, returning back to his desk.

''Who are you?'' Akira asked. The question hadn't plagued him until now. Who was this man? Was he being toyed with again, only being used as a pawn in what was seen as a ''game''? Insecurities stapled up inside of him. Could he walk into the unknown without his friends supporting him?''

The man sat back in his chair, leaning back once again. ''Who I am? That doesn't really matter that much,'' the man remarked, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. ''Sometimes I don't even know myself. The most important thing here is that _you,_ young man, don't forget who you are and what made you into… well, you.''

Those words etched themselves into Akira's mind. Had the lack of faith in himself made him forget what made him an individual?

''I won't,'' Akira said, resolve strengthening his words. ''I'll save this world, with or without anyone at my side.''

The man's grin threatened to split his face in half.

''Good, good! You will face trials you haven't faced before, and the mysteries you solved will present themselves in different ways now, but you'll get through it. With perseverance of your old bonds, or through the creation of new ones,'' the man exclaimed, clapping his hands.

''What do you mean by tha-''

''It. Doesn't. Matter~'' the man cut Akira off with a cheerful tone. ''You're used to cryptic descriptions and a lack of information anyway. So, Akira Kurusu…''

The man spread his arms, and Akira could feel his spirit being lifted up. From the deep dark up to the light.

He'd fix everything, no matter what.

''Let us restart your rehabilitation!''

* * *

The days seemed to fly past at Kuoh Academy. It was a monotonous chore of getting up in the morning, participating in class, studying at home, and acing the test. Rinse and repeat. No people on his heels, no suspicious activities, no ruckus.

He had enrolled without himself knowing, but he started going to school like it was habit. It had to be part of this new reality he was in. Kuoh was more similar to his old country town than it was to Tokyo, and it didn't help with suppressing the bad memories.

At first he could appreciate the peaceful manner his new life was going about. It presented a reality to him in which he never got involved with the business of stealing hearts. A regular day-to-day school life, as his old self might've preferred. There were no rumors being spread about him, there was no threat of expulsion, and everyone interacted with him like they would with any student, even if he didn't talk back much.

It got boring fast.

There was not a single day that went by without him hoping that he'd run into a lovely blonde idiot, and they would both be dragged into a different world to start an adventure that would change their lives forever. The cries to not forget to do the dishes as he left the house were absent. The innocent but intimate moments he had in his room were missing. All the things he appreciated about his new life soon died in the shadow of all the things he loved and missed.

The conversation he had with the strange man seemed like a dream he tried to remember, but kept phasing out of his head. Had it actually happened? Perhaps it was merely a part of his imagination that had tried to convince him that he was here with a purpose, and not just left alive through a cruel twist of fate. He had no idea how much time had passed since the event either. It could be days, weeks even, but there was no date he could hold onto. He simply woke up after the conversation, in an apartment he seemed to know by heart, and got ready to go to school like it was the usual monday morning.

He hadn't gotten lost in the streets of Kuoh yet, but he was certainly lost in the maze of his mind.

The rain dripped down the window, and Akira's gaze lost itself in the shining drops. It was April, like it was _last time_, but the spring rain seemed to sweep across the country this time around. Lunch break always seemed like an accursed eternity with nothing to do.

He whipped his phone out of his pocket. The severe lack of messages and a special app managed to disappoint him each time he looked at the screen. Yet another joy he was robbed off.

"Hey! Did you hear?"

His head turned to the side. He knew the comment was obviously not aimed at him, but anything was better than staring into nothingness at this point. The classroom was a lot more crowded this time around, he noticed.

"Yeah, you mean the accident that happened in the park last night?"

Akira's ears were perked up now. Accident?

"It was horrible. He was supposedly bleeding from his mouth and eyes, just laying on the ground there. And in the middle of the night too! Like it happened out of nowhere."

His heart was beating fast. It sounded oddly familiar to another "accident" that had happened in April before.

"I think it was Hyoudou-kun from year 2, you know, the little perv."

"Pervert or not, no one deserves something like this. He was so lucky Gremory-san happened to be in the area and called an ambulance. Not only a school idol, but a good samaritan as well!"

"Whatever struck him, I hope it's not infectious. Wouldn't want to end up spazzing out too."

He knew enough.

He stood up from his chair, and made his way out of the classroom. He knew his destination this time around. It didn't matter if this was a suspicious coincidence or an actual mental shutdown. Every single detail would be revealed to him, and he'd fix it. No matter what it takes. No matter what's standing in the way.

So Akira made his way over to the Occult Research Club building.

There was a special thing about Kuoh Academy, and that was the reverence the student body held for certain individuals. Rias Gremory and her club fell into that category. Ever since his first day at school, he couldn't help but overhear all the talk about them. Most of it consisted of admiration and respect, with some slander and jealousy here and there. It was so different from Shujin too, where being popular was usually an indicator for all the glares being thrown your way.

The fact that she was involved in this mental shutdown case was all the more reason for him to investigate.

It could be a coincidence, yes, but he didn't want to risk anything this time around. There had been pretenders who had played along in the past, and for all he knew, the famous Rias Gremory could be like that too.

He soon arrived at the building. It had a nice, older vibe to it. Perfect for people that were looking into the occult. It could've made for a perfect hideout for his little band of thieves too.

"What a surprise to see you here."

It seemed that the first one to greet him was the Prince.

Yuuto smiled as he strode forward towards Akira. It reminded him of how Yusuke carried himself, always elegant. Though Yusuke did seem to be a bit more touched in the head.

"Do you happen to have any business with the club, Kurusu-san?" Yuuto asked when he came close enough to Akira. The two of them had never actually talked face to face, but the fact that they were both aware of each other's existence was enough to skip the introductions.

"Pardon the intrusion," Akira said, pushing up his glasses, "is Gremory-san here?"

"Why yes, but…" Yuuto's voice trailed off in confusion, "is there a reason why you wish to see her."

"It's private."

A torrent of thoughts seemed to flash through Yuuto's eyes, before he smiled again. "Sure, I don't see why not. It would be plain rude to tell you to leave if you have a matter to discuss with the president, after all."

Yuuto walked back to the door, and opened it, beckoning for Akira to come inside. He nodded and entered the building, watching his step.

The interior of the building was even older than the exterior. Vintage, almost victorian furniture decorated the place. If not for the extreme cleanness of the place, he would've thought dust would be hiding around every corner.

"Come, I'll lead you to the president."

With no objections, Akira followed Yuuto up the stairs. It almost felt like he was being led towards his execution. After they reached the second floor, Yuuto beckoned for him to wait as he walked towards the door. He knocked on it, murmuring something, and after a few seconds opened the door. He turned around to smile towards Akira.

"The president's in here. Good luck with whatever you're doing."

Yuuto sounded sincere, but Akira could not help to think there might've been a sarcastic undertone hidden under Yuuto's words.

Maybe there was something darker hidden under that smile of his.

Akira entered the room, and after he had done so Yuuto closed it for him almost inaudibly. The room he found himself now was more akin to a tea room than a place where a club would gather. Two large couches with a coffee table in between, various bookshelves, and at the end of a room a desk.

And there sat none other than the Great Lady of Kuoh Academy herself.

He found himself stunned for a while, almost like the first time he saw Ann. Looks were of course not what were most important to him, but Rias's appearance was quite captivating. She brushed her red hair out of her face, and looked up at him, flashing him a kind smile.

"Welcome, Akira-kun. Please have a seat."

He sat down on one of the couches before she could even finish her sentence. She stood up from her chair and walked to the couch across from him, taking her sweet time with each step she took.

If her legs didn't rival Tae's, Akira didn't know what else to say.

She sat down after a polite offer for some coffee or tea, which he also had politely rejected. She crossed her legs and laid her hands on her knee. From that moment on, he knew that she thought she was in control.

"So, what was it you wished to discuss with me, Akira-kun?" Rias asked before taking a sip of her tea. Akira sensed that she tried to hide her curiosity, but with his experience of talking with others, he saw right through it.

"This place looks nice," Akira said, ignoring Rias's question, "how did you get this for your club?"

"I have my connections," Rias answered, not seeming to mind the fact that Akira dodged her questions faster than Ryuji would dodge wind attacks.

"I came her to ask about the event that took place in the park."

"Oh?" Rias said in a surprised tone, though Akira dared to say that she was faking it. "You mean what happened with Hyoudou-kun I assume. Quite the terrifying event honestly. He's still in a bad condition, I hope he gets better soon."

"You were there, weren't you?" Akira asked. The suspicions arose in his head again. It could have been nothing else but a shutdown. And everyone that was present when it happened could've been involved. The man did say things worked in a different way this time, after all.

"Indeed," Rias answered, "I found him while I was taking a late stroll through the park. It was only natural to call the ambulance."

"It's a bit strange for a girl like you to go out at night like that."

Akira was only half surprised when Rias seemed unfazed by his semi-accusation.

"Sometimes it helps with clearing my mind, the moonlight does seem to have a calming effect," Rias replied with a smile. "Oh Akira-kun, were you thinking there'd be some other reason for me to be outside at such a late hour?"

"Not really, it can just be rather dangerous to go out at that time. Drunkards could be wandering around, you know."

He knew all about that from experience.

Rias giggled. "I wouldn't worry, I can handle myself just fine. So is that the reason you came here? To confirm my presence during Hyoudou-kun's unfortunate incident was nothing more than a coincidence? And what difference would it make to you?"

"It might have been," Akira said, as he stood up from the couch, "and I just like to be sure about everything." This wasn't going anywhere. Rias was adamant on playing by her rules, and he couldn't keep up like that forever.

It was time to cheat his way into the game.

"Leaving already?" Rias asked, and this time Akira was genuinely surprised by the disappointment in her voice. "I'm sorry you did not get the information you needed. But…"

Rias paused for a moment.

"What would you do if something like this were to happen again?"

He stopped just before he was about to leave the room, he turned his head to look Rias straight in the eyes.

"I'd put a stop to it."

As he left the room, he did not see the small smile that formed on Rias's face.

* * *

The moonlight covered the park in it's eerie light, almost brighter than the lanterns surrounding the path. The leaves rustled in the gentle wind, providing whoever walked through the park with a song of nature.

For Akira, this seemed like the perfect place for someone's mind to collapse.

A close look at the crime scene had always helped in the past. Then again, he also had a fair amount of brains with him to investigate back in those times. He didn't expect too much out of this little search, but hoping for a small hint he could work with wasn't that much to ask.

He had no idea where the victim had exactly collapsed, so his first choice was to wander around the place until he found a spot that looked like the place where it had happened. If there were no traces left, he had to trust his gut.

After minutes of walking through the park, he arrived at a more open spot. The only thing of note was the large fountain present in the middle, and that had nothing to do with what he was looking for.

He considered leaving until he heard a buzzing sound.

At the speed of light he reached for his pocket. A notification at this moment could only be a twist of fate. And it sure was when he looked at the screen.

App installed. MetaNav.

How he wanted to uncharacteristically jump around and cheer. But he had what he needed now. The first step to his mission could be taken now. It felt both strange and amusing to know how the app worked instead of trying to delete it in confusion.

Space twisted around him, the all too familiar distortions covering his eyes. To his surprise, not too much had changed. There was no grand castle, no large structure, no treasure and definitely no shadows.

All that appeared were two stairs, one going down into the earth and the other rising up to the midnight sky. Another buzz came from his phone, and he noticed an odd prompt he had not noticed when using the Nav before.

"Please ascend or descend."

He didn't get it. Was there a split in the cognitive world here? Was it a palace divided in two distinct parts? Or was this more of a Mementos type of deal, with multiple floors? There was only one way to find out.

After playing a quick game of rock-paper-scissors in his mind, he landed on the stairs that led down. Without further hesitation, he went on ahead. He could only imagine the faces his friends would have as they'd be heading into the unknown, wondering whose desires they'd uncover this time around.

The stairs went on for a long time. Even though he hadn't done this in a while, he didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest. His heart was beating fast despite his slow pace. The sheer excitement to get back to work was almost uncontainable. There was a small problem he was experiencing though.

He had no idea what had happened to his Personas.

They were squirming inside of his heart most of the time, he could feel them, he could call upon them. Now their presence was faint and washed out. He wasn't sure about who was still with him, or if anyone was actually there at all. He was still confident in his skills, for sure, but not all the shadows went by the name of Pixie and weren't that easy to deal with it.

Eventually a light shone through at the end of the tunnel, and Akira stepped through, awaiting what would appear before him.

The sky was an ominous purple. He stood on a cliff, overlooking the vast lands that expanded in front of him. There was no distinct building or location that seemed to stand out. Instead, the area was filled with places that could all be palaces on their own. Various structures adorned the twisting and ever changing land, almost like it was a different world and not a cognitive version of the world that actually exists. He could only imagine what lurked in this strange land.

He double checked himself. Trusty dagger and gun were at his side. The gloves were on and the ends of his coat dangled just above the ground. And of course, the mask was in place as it should. Everything was like it used to be.

"This is…!"

He turned around, surprised at the sudden voice behind him. Rias a fair distance behind him, seemingly in shock. She did not notice him for a while, and when she did she almost fell down, her bat like wings not being able to keep her up. Akira decided to ignore the strange display, and managed to crack a weak smile.

"Another one of your late night walks?"

* * *

"So you are a devil."

"Yes, I am."

"This is apparently the Underworld, the place where your kind comes from."

"That's correct."

"And the reason you were there when that boy collapsed was because you were about to resurrect him and turn him into a devil, but it didn't work out and you were unable to heal him so you ended up calling an ambulance?"

"That's… close enough."

"Okay," Akira shrugged, "seems fair."

"How can you be so calm!" Rias shouted, shaking him by the shoulders. "You're acting like acting into hell is a leisure activity! And what's with the outfit," Rias murmurer as she practically fondled Akira, "this strange coat, the mask, you look like you're straight from a bad Lupin III movie!"

"Lupin… III?" Akira repeated in a confused tone.

"N-never mind that!" Rias stammered, a faint blush covering her cheeks. "What's more important is what you're about to do here, this isn't a place to casually wander around."

"I don't think it matters," Akira remarked, as he looked down the cliff to find a safe path to descend. "You weren't keen on sharing your intentions earlier either, why should I be?"

"That's…" Rias raised her hand in retort, but lowered it after a moment of thought, "a very valid point. But hey, you're not gonna get far without someone who knows the place, right? And who would be a better guide than an actual devil, who happens to be _right here._

He had to admit that she had a point. This wasn't like the other cases where he knew something about his target. He had no idea what shadows he'd encounter and with the place spanning the size of a small country, help would be appreciated.

"And there's this whole other deal," Rias started, her voice taking on a quieter tone, "the fact that everything is so… _different._"

"Different?"

"Yeah," Rias replied, crouching down and gazing over the vast lands of the Underworld, "things are differently know. The sky isn't purple all the time, and the buildings are all more modernized. We adapt too, you know. This looks like it's straight out of a devil history book."

"A history book, huh," he muttered. This could be something the man could've referred to. Did people's cognition in this world perhaps manifest as a vision of the past?

He slid down a slightly less steep section of the cliff, ignoring Rias's cries behind him. Soon he landed on the ground, and quickly dashed behind a nearby pillar. Soon after that Rias flew down and landed next to him.

"Don't go runni-" Rias was cut off by Akira putting his hand on her mouth and beckoning for her to stay silent. He got a couple muffled noises in response but soon Rias calmed down. He slowly pointed towards the large building in front of him.

A colosseum.

The large white circular structure was huge. In front of it was a smaller building, perhaps a entrance way of sorts. Golden lines flowed along the walls of colosseum, as if someone had painted them on there sloppily. Many human looking individuals surrounded the colosseum, seemingly trying to get inside.

"What could this be…" Akira whispered, mostly to himself, but Rias took it up to herself to respond.

"Perhaps it is a place where they hold Rating Games. Though those did not exist back in the day."

"Rating Games?"

"I don't think we're in a good spot for detailed explanations at the moment," Rias replied, somewhat annoyed. "Let's check it out."

With that, Rias took the initiative this time and went on ahead. He could only follow after. It would've been ideal if he could stay cautious, but with Rias around that became a lot harder. He could only hope to find some info soon, find a link in the real world and get to work.

"Oh, Queen Rias!"

Both Rias and Akira looked dumbfounded.

"Queen?"

A good portion of the people rushed over towards the pair, spouting all sorts of nonsense as they pushed them towards the colosseum.

"What is this outfit, my Queen? Surely you cannot display yourself like this!"

"And who is this? Your new servant? He looks like quite the joker!"

Rias could only muster out a few week protests as the crowd dragged them along. Soon they were inside the colosseum, and they could not believe their eyes.

All the seats were filled to the brim, the tribune looking like a sea of people. In the middle was the big open space, were the fights most likely took place. To Akira's surprise and Rias's horror they were dragged off straight towards the middle of the arena, and were left there straight in the spotlight.

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman!" An announcer's voice boomed through the colosseum. "Today we seem to have a challenger, going up against our forces to compete for the lovely Queen Rias's hand!"

The crowd cheered, and thousands of cries of joy muted Rias's cry of protest.

"And to properly start this battle, I will leave the rest to the owner of the colosseum, the lord of flame, charmer of many fine women and Queen Rias's beloved husband…"

"Husband?" Akira said, looking at Rias, who seemed to be almost paralyzed.

"Give a round of applause to the almighty King Riser Phenex!"

On a balcony overlooking the arena, a squadron of scantily dressed women stepped out. On their shoulders they carried a throne, and on the throne sat a man Akira could only describe as a blonde and less ugly Kamoshida.

And he had hoped he wouldn't have to deal with lust as his first one again.

"Behold, my brethren!" Riser called out, riling up the crowd even more. "Another man takes the challenge to steal my favorite woman from me? What will be lost this time? His life or his own wife!"

"I'm not your wife, you scumbag!" Rias called out, pointing at Riser. "Besides, what the hell is going! There was no colosseum here and you certainly didn't go from marquis to king in a bloody day!"

"It's his cognition," Akira replied, earning a confused look from Rias.

"Cognition?"

"You're unusually feisty today," Riser responded loudly from up the balcony, "maybe it's that time of the month? It doesn't matter. Later today you will be writhing underneath me as usual. Bring her up here and let out the combatants!"

With a snap of Riser's fingers, Rias was teleported up to the balcony. Akira saw her struggle and scream, but it seemed futile as she was soon chained to the other women and disappeared into the background. Riser sent him a final smirk before disappearing as well, following his harem.

The crowd roared and yelled, and the temperature started rising. This would usually be the time where he'd bolt and get out of there, but leaving Rias was not an option. If he had to deal with a second Kamoshida, he would.

Soon the earth shook as two gates near the sides of the arena opened. Two, large red demons marched out, approaching Akira. Flames burst out of their backs, and their roars were even louder than the sound of the entire audience.

_**"Oh? Is this where your justice comes to an end?"**_

A voice burst from within him, light and energy filled his heart as the voice continued to ring in his head. He felt his heart and spirit elevate. The sound of the crowd slowly became quieter and the monsters stopped progressing towards Akira.

They were coming back.

_**"If they bring forth the hounds of hell, we shall answer them with the powers of our Father above! My blessings I bestow upon thee!"**_

A light shone down onto the arena, making the audience and the monsters down in the arena cower, hoping to protect their eyes from the holy sight. Smoke rose up from the seats. The light was growing some strong that it was burning the skin of some devils, slowly purging them and removing their existence. The crowd slowly started dispersing, hoping to avoid more contact with the holy light, but the rays isolated them from going towards the exist, lest they wanted to get burned like the others.

They would be forced to watch the slaughtering.

_**"I am Thou. Thou art I."**_

His cloak wappered behind, and the holy light focused directly on him. Large, white wings manifested behind him. Soon a suit of armor followed along. And finally, a heavenly sword descended, and the figure grabbed it with resolution as its magical form solidified. The monsters stumbled back, hoping to retreat to their cages, but judgement had already come.

_**"I am Archangel. I have come to deliver justice."**_

* * *

**Well, this is my new project. Kinda ran into writer's block with naruto/dxd stories, so why not try persona? I noticed a majority of the good fics are P3 focused, so I wanted to give P5 a bit of shine as well.**

**First complaints are probably gonna be about Akira not pulling out Metatron at the end. It's a tad bit too early for things like that. I think fights will be more interesting if if showcases the powers of less popular personas better than them just being a top tier persona smacking fodder around. Of course those type of fights also have their place, just not in chapter 1.**

**Pacing was a bit off in this place, I was trying to avoid "empty school day" type of scenes which would just feel like filler. I'm a bit out of my groove so I'll try to work on this as best I can. And yes, Riser is the first antagonist, but even if he is like Kamoshida, he's not the actual Kamoshida in this part, if you catch my drift.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this story. I will try my best for weekly updates on this one, so you guys have something to read and so I can, well, start not sucking at writing. Please leave a review with your thoughts and I'll see you all in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

''_**Oh? Why art thou running? Not keen on facing thine long awaited judgement?''**_

They definitely weren't.

With each passing second, the audience grew more fearful as the masses turned into a raging torrent of panic. Instead of cheerful yells and taunts coming out of their mouths, only screams of terror echoed through the colosseum now. The two monster down below got the short end of the stick though, as they stood right in front of him and his Persona, awaiting their imminent doom.

He could only smile as he gave out his first order.

''Ravage them.''

A single swing of Archangel's blade was all it took; physical contact was not even required. Holy light tore through the two monsters, cutting them in half. Their eyes rolled around in fear, hoping to land on a possible savior who could prevent their deaths, but their bodies exploded before anyone could step in. Not that anyone would help them, as all the other devils in the area were too busy with saving their own hides. After delivering the deed, Archangel disappeared back into depths of Akira's heart. At least he knew that he could summon something now.

Akira watched as the monster dissipated into the oh so familiar black smoke. So they were indeed Shadows, and this was indeed an actual Palace. But the pieces still didn't fit all together. Was this colosseum a single Palace? Was this place part of a bigger picture? Countless of questions flashed through his head as he ignored the chaos around him.

Alas, he had someone to save.

His first action was to rush forward towards the edge of the arena, and once he was close he jumped up and traversed the walls up to the balcony were that Riser fellow stood before. The good thing was that no one seemed to be paying attention to his escape, the bad thing was that his limbs felt a bit stiff. He hadn't done this in a while after all, and in the back of his head he dreaded the moment he'd get back to the real world. His body would feel like a brick sinking down into the sea.

Finally reaching up to the balcony, he jumped onto it and continued on his way. The dark hallway ahead of him could only lead him to his suspicions at worst. He rushed forward, hoping that he would not end up where he'd think he would. But he did.

Emerging from the hallway, he arrived in a grand room. Crimson lining adorned the walls and floor, and he could fit a skyscraper inside of the place and it wouldn't even scratch the ceiling. Large golden chandeliers in the shape of birds hung from the ceiling, looking like they could burst free and fly away at any second. Various stairs twisted around, connecting to even more hallways that led into the unknown. What intrigued him the most were the many paintings hanging from the wall, which as expected featured that Riser guy in all his glory. And the many women that stood alongside him.

He could only speculate on what Riser had done to all these girls, but he for sure knew what his vision of them was. Pieces of meat. The amount of women Riser had quite literally objectified in this world had dwarfed any act of harassment Kamoshida ever committed. The only thing he could appreciate more about Riser was that he didn't dress like an actual sex offender in his Palace.

The confusing part was that Rias, the ''Queen'' of this place, was nowhere to be seen among these painting. He could only hope that the real Rias would not run into the cognitive version of herself, he didn't have the energy to fight shadows and calm a very angry woman at the same time. But to prevent that from happening, he had to be quick. And in order to be quick, he had to focus.

Focus.

The area around him darkened, and his gaze aimed itself at the glowing footsteps beneath him. The third eye Igor had bestowed upon him seemed to still be working too. Large, chunky footsteps surrounded a group of smaller ones, which he assumed were the guards escorting the group of women that Rias was made part of. The tracks lead him to a staircase that twisted itself almost all the way up to the highest hallway.

''Hurry up and find him!''

The shouts beneath him told him that he too had to hurry up.

Dashing into the hallway, a sweet, feminine aroma embraced his nostrils. He didn't know what to think of it yet, but as he reached the end of the hallway he came across a rather peculiar sight.

This place had to be the most comfy prison he had ever seen.

The exterior looked like a medieval torture chamber, sure, but the insides of the cells were colored a bright pink, with each cell having a large, heart shaped bed in the middle. The torture equipment had also been replaced by more ''pleasurable'' tools. He saw a few women laying on the beds in a couple cells, their clothes torn and their eyes blank. He didn't even want to think about what they had done to them.

''Akira-kun, is that you?''

Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned his head to see Rias locked up in the cell at the very end of the hall, sitting on the bed. Her look of disbelief did not vanish when he rushed over to her cell.

''Are you okay?'' he asked.

''I'm fine, they didn't do anything to me,'' Rias answered, ''what about you though? I thought you were done for! How'd you make it out of there?'' She stood up from the bed and rushed forward. Akira took a quick glance to make sure she wasn't lying, he wouldn't forgive himself or whoever had harmed her if he let someone get hurt this early on in the game.

''We'll talk later,'' he said as he started fiddling with the lock. This was a change as well. With lock picks he could open any door or chest within a matter of seconds, but with just his hands available the speed of the process was agonizing.

''Hurry it up please,'' Rias pleaded, shaking the cell bars, ''there's no telling when that scumbag or his lackies come back.''

''I'm doing my best,'' he muttered under his breath as he continued with his efforts to pry the lock open. Stress was getting to him. He had done this countless of times, yet it felt like the first time he was dropped into the Metaverse. Adaptation was required. He had not even seen a quarter of this Palace, but he could tell it wasn't like the others he had been through. And different places required different methods.

So he pulled out his gun.

''Akira-kun what are you-''

He pulled the trigger, and how fast the bullet came out made him jump back a little himself. He _really_ was rusty. His reaction paled in comparison to Rias's though, as she let out a squeal and fell back onto the hard cell floor. The lock fell onto the ground, and the door creaked open, opening the path of freedom for Rias.

''Come on,'' he said, extending a hand to Rias, ''we need to get out of here.''

''Do you think it's normal for someone to retain their cool like this?!'' Rias shouted, even as she accepted his hand without hesitation and got up. ''Where did you get that thing from?! You could've shot me, for Lucifer's sake. Maybe you ought to be a little bit more considerate next time?''

''I hope there won't be a next time,'' he replied, ''let's go already, we can't waste anymore time here.'' He holstered his gun and turned around, only to come to the conclusion that they had already wasted their time.

There stood Riser in all his glory. Since there was no huge distance between the two now, Akira managed to get his first good look in. Riser was by far the best dressed shadow he had come across in his phantom thief career. He wore a flaming red suit, covered by an even more deeply colored red cape. Golden plates embraced his shoulders, so wide Akira could imagine Riser had trouble fitting through doors with those things on. A crown on his head like every king should have, and the unreplaceable smirk that every single one of those smug bastards had whenever they thought they had the upper hand. Riser was the spitting image of a Palace ruler.

''I must say, I didn't think you'd get out there alive,'' Riser complimented, but Akira knew he was mocking him, ''what was even more unexpected was the sheer amount of holy energy that coursed through my colosseum. Are you perhaps with the church?'' Riser questioned, more to himself, as he put a hand to his chin. ''Oh, it doesn't matter. I'm getting rid of you and the ugly impostor anyway.''

''Impostor, you say?'' Rias hissed, glaring at Riser and putting a hand on her hip. ''First I'm dragged off into a literal sex dungeon, and then you call me ugly? You truly are the lowest of scum.''

No one could see, or could even imagine it, but Akira was screaming internally. This was all heading down a road that was too familiar for his taste.

''What can I say?'' Riser laughed and shrugged his shoulders. ''I had these incompetent fools I call guards run a double check, and my Rias is waiting for me and my embrace in my personal quarters.''

''_Your _Rias?'' Rias spat out, and Akira shuddered more by the increased venom in her tone. Now they were just waiting for the final straw that would break the camel's back, and he was not excited for that.

''Rias-san please, don't let him get to you-''

''Enough of this!'' Riser exclaimed, his amused tone replaced by an angry one. ''You will be disposed of at once. I can't have a mere human and a faker defile by land of purity. Guards, take care of it.''

Riser turned on his heel, departing. Rias was about to voice her protest, but her breath was taken away by the guards who were once again mutating into unseen monstrosities. Akira sighed and gently pushed her back, sending her a knowing smile.

''I'll handle it.''

As the monstrosities approached, he reached into the depths of his heart again. Wind that was not present started picking up, and the monsters stopped in their steps, the same way their comrades in the colosseum had. Rias could only watch on, eyes wide and mouth open, seemingly unable to process what was going in. He reached further and further, and he didn't land on a holy light.

He landed on something darker.

''_**Well, what insolence comes to stand before me this time? These amateurs seem to think they hold a candle against us?''**_

Fiery fur formed behind him, taking on the shape of a beast that was common, yet unknown. Black arms formed around its body, ready to grab onto any target and squeeze the living hell out of them. Sharp spikes manifested above its knuckles, and those would only contribute more to the pain his enemies were about to feel.

''_**It might be time to show these weakling what a real demon is like.''**_

Feline features appeared on its chest. A leopard, though more menacing than any leopard ever seen. More _demonic._ Black pipes extended and burst from the shoulders, and thus the monster manifested.

''_**I am Thou. Thou art I.''**_

The leopard's head roared, and flames danced around the unlucky guards. They would be shown the true nature of a demon as they'd burn in the real flames of hell.

''_**I am Flauros, and the future I have seen for you, holds death.''**_

* * *

His prediction had been right. He did feel like a sack of potatoes.

With what little energy was left in his hand he opened the door to his apartment. He gazed around, he never expected himself to be so happy to be back here. The apartment was quite similar to the attic he lived in while he stayed at LeBlanc, only way cleaner and with actual proper heating and insolation. The rent was always paid for in advance, even though he had never even seen the landlord, or had paid a single a cent himself. After the events of today he had simply taken it for granted as a little twist of fate.

''You live all by yourself, huh?'' Rias remarked as she followed him into the apartment. He didn't bother with replying to what was obvious and crashed down onto his bed instead. Rias pulled up a nearby chair and brought it over closer, and sat down across from him.

Their escape from the Metaverse had gone without much trouble. Flauros had burned all who stood in their way, leaving no enemy unscathed. He had expected a more vocal protest from Rias, but she had gone along with him in silence, probably still in shock about what had happened.

After they had returned back to park, the unanimous decision to go to a safer place to discuss what happened was made in their minds. They didn't say a word to each other on the way to Akira's apartment. He didn't want to put any more pressure on her, and he figured she didn't want to inquire into certain matters, thinking she'd annoy him. Whenever he used to invite a girl back to his room, it was usually with a different context in mind.

The silence up until their arrival at his apartment had given him time to think however. The colosseum and Riser's grand mansion were definitely a Palace. In there, he had managed to summon two very distinctive Personas. An angel and a demon. From what Rias had told him before they went down to investigate the colosseum, angels and devils were real things in this world. Maybe this new reality was affecting his abilities more than he imagined.

''So,'' Rias started, and he looked up at her from his relaxed position on the bed, ''I guess both you and I want some answers from each other.'' She managed to curve her lips into a weak smile. He understood, a first time into the Metaverse was always taxing. And he had no Kawakami to fix him up this time around.

''I guess we do,'' he said before taking off his glasses to clean them. He put them back on, sat upright and looked Rias straight in the eyes. ''I know what you have seen must've creeped you out. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.''

Rias could only nod. She folded her hands on her lap and looked down. He could see the doubt swell up in her eyes. ''The Underworld… well, you called it the Metaverse. Why was it so different? What was the whole cognition stuff about?''

''It's how others see things,'' he replied, ''the Metaverse, in short, is a world where our thoughts and desires manifest. That place the Riser guy had is called a Palace. They're manifested if someone has strong and corrupted thoughts. In case you're worrying, that wasn't the _real_ Riser, but his other self, the one that represents his corruption.''

He wished he was as clueless when he had first appeared in Kamoshida's palace. Playing Morgana's role as the Metaverse expert was not up his alley.

''I know you have more questions,'' he said, grabbing Rias's attention, who seemed unsure about how to proceed further in the conversation, ''but what is Riser to you, exactly?''

His question made Rias rub her arm in an uncomfortable fashion, and her gaze sunk even deeper into the floor.

''He, is my… fiance.''

''Oh.''

''The devil population dwindled in numbers after the Great War between us, the angels and the fallen angels,'' she started explaining while playing with a lock of her luscious red hair, ''so we came up with an alternative method to bolster our ranks. Reincarnation of other species into devils. A whole system was built around it, hell, we even use it for our most popular ''sport''.''

''So your plan was to revive Hyoudo-kun as a devil? Were you expecting him to die?''

He didn't see Rias as a cruel person. All he wanted was for the details to be revealed. Mental shutdowns didn't happen out of nowhere, and if there was someone else travelling in and out of the Metaverse again, he needed all possible links that could lead him to that person.

''It's not like I was waiting for something to happen to him,'' she muttered in defense, ''he had gotten a flyer with my summoning emblem before the incident. If anything happened, I could be at the scene. If not, I was planning to convince him to join me anyway.''

''But when you got there, he was already in that state and you couldn't do anything.''

''Yes…'' Akira heard her voice flood with remorse. ''We use these special chess pieces — Evil Pieces — to revive people. None of the ones I had left were working, I couldn't do anything at all.''

''I see. Back to Riser then,'' he changed the subject. He felt that all that Rias felt regarding the mental shutdown was failure, and he didn't want to make her feel even worse.

''So, a lot of the other devils are still insistent on maintaining pure blood as they put it, regardless of whether we turn others into devils or not. I'm a victim of their ideology,'' she managed to get out through gritted teeth, ''Riser and I both come from prestigious devil houses, so a marriage was arranged between the two of us. I got no talk, no prior notice, I was expected to marry a man I grew to despise.'' A chuckle left her lips, but it was void of any amusement. ''All for the sake of a bunch of geezers and their need for purity.''

That explained Riser's words in the Palace. He too was a supporter of this purity, but with a lot of lust mixed in. Akira could only see Riser's status as an excuse to have a go at all the beautiful devil ladies.

Silence ensued between the two of them, with him staring at the ceiling and her staring at the floor. It was a mix of Haru's and Ann's situation, and it hurt him all the more because of that.

''What should I do?'' he heard Rias whisper. He looked back at her and saw the tears welling up in her eyes. ''I thought something would happen that would give me the chance to fight against it. A sign, a savior, whatever. But now I don't have _anything._''

She did have something. Him.

''I'll fix it.''

Rias could only stare as he stood up from the bed. He kept gazing at her eyes, hoping to calm the raging sea of despair that dwelled in them with his resolve.

''If he's there in the Metaverse, I can change his heart. He'll abandon his ways, which will most likely result in the engagement being called off.''

''Then let me help you!'' Rias exclaimed, hopping of her chair. ''I have some powers of my own, and the other members of my group could-''

''I don't want anyone else to get involved,'' he cut her off, ''this is too dangerous. The more people know the riskier it is for them too. No one should be put in a situation like Hyoudou-kun was.''

''So you're not letting me decide about my own future either?!''

That stung him. Hard. He didn't want to coddle her or downplay her abilities. It was just that people got involved before, got attached and then disappeared. Dragging others into the abyss because of his own failures was not a mistake he wanted to repeat. But she was right. She now knew, and whatever would happen resolved around her. Perhaps she could help him out.

''Could you check your phone for me?'' he asked.

''W-what? Why?'' She stammered, but she already started to reach into the pocket of her blazer.

''Please, this is important.''

She could only nod once again. She turned her phone on, the bright screen illuminating the dark apartment, reinforcing the moonlight that slipped in through the window. And there it was. The red eyed icon.

''What is that?'' Rias muttered, looking at the app with confusion in her eyes.

''Your gateway to freedom,'' he answered. He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. ''I'm sorry, this is your problem and of course you should be involved in solving it. When are you getting married?''

''There… is the engagement party in two weeks,'' Rias answered, taking her to time to pronounce each word with a confused look on her face. Her confusion soon vanished though and melted into a smile of her own. ''It's funny. We're practically strangers but when we talk I feel like we've known each other for ages.''

Yes. Yes it did feel like that.

''Let's exchange numbers so we can keep in touch. We'll go into details about this tomorrow okay?''

She nodded and in a sweep they exchanged contact details. He walked her towards the door and opened it for her, she stepped outside but turned back to smile at him, seemingly unsure of what to say.

''You don't need to thank me,'' he said before she could. This only caused her smile to widen.

''I won't now,'' she replied, ''but I will once this is all over. Good night… Akira.''

''Good night. Rias.''

She turned around and left. He watched her walk through the through the moonlit streets for while, her red hair moving, dancing along with the rhythm of the wind. She didn't look back once, but he knew she would be smiling until she got back home.

He closed the door and sighed. Today had taken a toll on him, physically and mentally. The only thing he wanted now was to be embraced by his blanket and to drift off into the night.

As he laid down onto his bed, his eyelids shut tight right off the bat, and he felt himself fall into slumber.

At least, that was what he thought.

He felt right awake in an instant. Looking around, he found himself in a familiar room. So things still worked like that even in this world.

''Devils, quite the interesting bunch, no?''

The man was sitting behind his desk like last time, leaning back in comfort and his legs thrown onto the desk. He did not question the moment he woke up inside this room, and just walked forward, ready to embrace whatever knowledge — or lack thereof — would be shared with him this time.

''Shitty adults exist even among other races…'' Akira muttered in response. The man let out a hearty laugh as he took his legs off the desk and twisted his chair to face Akira.

''Indeed. For the longest time, Devils were evil and that was all there was to it. They spread sin among themselves and humanity. But as your new friend might've told you, they started to modernize to accommodate the humans that were now involved with them in various ways. And as they became closer to mankind…''

The man rubbed something in between his fingers, and then crushed it.

''So did their hearts.''

It made sense to Akira. Humans were free thinkers. They all believed in different things, had different morals and upheld different ideologies. Devils were set on one goal. But if someone's heart was liberated, it made room for corruption too.

''The Devils had nothing to hide before, as they were clearly in touch with whatever they were created for, but now their suppressed thoughts have manifested in the Metaverse,'' the man explained.

''So…'' Akira started, ''do I just steal the hearts of whoever I find as a Palace ruler in that world?''

''Oh no, no. You see my boy, there is no ruin about to be spread. Not yet, at least. There seems to be a large frame of time before things start to get serious. The Metaverse is not a set-up and seems to, well, simply exist. New shadows will keep appearing of the devils who have very strong desires, and trying to vanquish them all would be a fool's errand. But I guess you and I are both fools, eh? Still, whoever you choose to pursue is a choice you make on your own merits.''

So he was starting out like had in the past. Picking targets to make change to society and delivering justice. Only the thing was that Japan would not be the only place affected by his thievery anymore.

''One last question.''

The man grinned. ''Hurry it up then. Time is running out and while I do enjoy the company, you need to prioritize your rehabilitation.''

He was about to ask why time would run out, but realized that if he'd ask about such a thing now he'd have to wait for the next time he came here to get the information he really wanted.

''I went to a cognitive version of the Underworld when I descended down, what would happen if I took the way up?''

The man's grin only widened.

''What's the opposite of hell?''

After that statement from the mysterious man, Akira felt himself tumble back into slumber, the room vanishing in front of his eyes.

* * *

''_Are you free during lunch break?''_

''_Isn't the Lady of Kuoh Academy supposed to pay attention to class?''_

''_Oh, quit it. You're the one who decided to check his messages right now!''_

He couldn't help but smile. Having someone to text after such a long time was nice. The good memories flowed through his heart. He was told he would forge new bonds, and it looked like he was on the right path regarding that.

''_But yeah, I'm free during lunch. Where do you want to meet up?''_

''_We should avoid the Occult Research Club building, since the others are all there today. We could probably go onto the rooftop, no one comes there anyway.''_

Now _that_ brought back a lot of memories.

The bell soon rang and he stood up as fast as possible in order to rush over to the rooftop. His heart started beating quicker and quicker as he walked up the stairs. He was about to steal a heart again. His justice or motives didn't really matter in the moment now. All he cared about was that he would delve into thievery with someone he could hope to call a friend.

He opened the door to the rooftop, and saw that Rias was already present. She turned around at the sound of the door opening, and smiled at him. This wasn't the smile he had seen when he had first met her, a smile simply out of politeness, it was a smile brighter than the sun. One that radiated happiness.

''Hey, Akira,'' she greeted him, and he nodded in return, ''glad you could make it.''

''Good to see you too. Quite the place you picked,'' he remarked as he gazed around. The rooftop was indeed a great location. The view over the rest of town was great and thanks to the structure of the building they were on, they could see anything down below but it would be hard to see them from ground level.

''I know, right? Even the delinquents of the school never come up here, we have the place all to ourselves,'' she said as she twirled around, basking in the sunlight.

''Won't we get in trouble if we stay here? No pissy student council people that will come after us?'' he asked. It was more of a pry to see if the council president was anything like Makoto, and if they happened to be, maybe he could get something out of that as well.

''Don't worry about it, the president is a dear friend of mine, so we pretty much have the green light. Anyway,'' Rias sat down onto the floor and stared at him like a child waiting for their birthday presents, ''when are we heading in? I can't wait to teach that fried chicken a lesson.''

He chuckled at both her enthusiasm and the nickname she had for Riser. ''You need to hold your horses. We still have a whole two weeks before the engagement party. Might as well take our time to prepare.''

On a good day with a bit of luck involved, he could find a path to a Palace's treasure in a single day. Then again, that was with the aid of a lot more Personas, Futaba's navigating, Morgana's senses and a _lot_ of Sojiro's curry. With someone inexperienced like Rias and without the guidance of someone else who knew what they were getting themselves into the journey to the treasure would be a lot harder.

Rias huffed. ''Why wait? I would think the rule of the sooner the better would apply here too, no?''

''It doesn't matter, really,'' he replied. ''Even if we were to change Riser's heart today, the full effects of it wouldn't be showed to us until close to day of the engagement party, or perhaps even during the party. As long as we have a little bit of time left we'll be fine.''

''Okay Mr. Expert,'' Rias said as she smirked, ''you talk like you've already stolen hearts before.''

''Yes.''

He watched Rias's smirk disappear that same moment. He didn't want to lie, but he wasn't about to go into detail either. Trying to move on from the past was already hard enough when he had constant reminders hanging around, haunting him every waking minute, talking about it would only make things worse.

''So, this is how we'll go about,'' Akira started in hopes to break the awkward silence, ''first, we must locate Riser's treasure. The treasure is an object that represents his corrupted heart. If we steal the treasure, we can lure out Riser and confront him. We beat him, and I repeat, _beat_, not kill. With his corruption defeated all the twisted desires that lurk within the real Riser will vanish as well.''

''So steal this treasure, fight the cognitive Riser, and watch the change happen,'' Rias repeated, ''got it. But Akira, I have another question. Those powers you used in Riser's palace, the summoning of what Riser said was something holy and a devil, even though the house of Flauros is extinct, if it's not a Sacred Gear, what is it?''

It was not a devil he had summoned. For whatever reason, Flauros had it very clear that there was a distinct difference between him, a demon, and the devils that inhabited the Underworld. The exact difference was unknown however, and Akira sure couldn't say what it was. He had already debunked that his power was something called a Sacred Gear, the subject of which he had briefly discussed with Rias when she explained her situation when they had first arrived in the Underworld. He didn't want to mention Archangel, considering devils were not the tightest buddies with angels.

''Persona,'' he answered, ''it's called a Persona. ''A manifestation of the heart. Kind of the opposite of those shadows in the Metaverse.''

''Manifestation of the heart… '' Rias muttered, looking up at the blue sky. ''Say, Akira, could I… Could I get a Persona as well?''

He remained silent. That was a question he could not answer. Everyone who had entered the Metaverse alongside with him had manifested a Persona. But he had no idea how Rias's identity as a devil would change things if added into the mix.

''We'll just have to see,'' he replied after a while. ''For all we know, you might already have one.'' He looked at his phone to check the time. ''Break is almost over, we should get back to class.''

Rias nodded with a smile. ''Shall we start the preparations after school then?'' she suggested, to which he smiled back.

The mission had just started.

* * *

Sunday was when they went in.

Three days he had spent to get ready for the infiltration. His study hours during the evening were replaced by time to craft tools. With the little amount of money he had he shopped for tape, plastic, rope and all the good stuff. Soon he was armed to the teeth with smoke bombs and lock picks.

His contact with Rias had been minimal during the last few days. She was worried that her fellow devil group members — or her peerage as she liked to call it — would catch on, which was a reasonable concern, so their only form of communication had been through texts.

When sunday finally arrived, they met up at the park. It was in the afternoon, the same time he'd usually take whenever he went to a Palace with the team. The navigation inside went without problems, as the staircases appeared and they both descended, ready to confront whatever awaited them inside Riser's Palace.

Rias's outfit had yet to change, and even though she had tried and bring forth a Persona from within her heart, it didn't work out. He had wanted to tell her that squeezing your eyes shut for a long time and concentrating wasn't going to cut the cake, but he didn't have the heart to take her out of her fantasy after seeing her try so hard.

''Well, that didn't work,'' Rias muttered, as she looked down onto the colosseum from their vantage point on the cliff. Akira sighed, of course it didn't. She turned her head towards him, her disappointment replaced by confidence. ''So, how are we tackling this?''

''We'll go around this time. Going through the colosseum, even if done with caution, still has too much of a chance to attract attention. There was that path that led into the insides of the Palace from that balcony, so surely there must be a front entrance,'' he speculated. From what he had seen of the interior of the Palace when he had entered through the colosseum, the place was already huge. Going in through a different spot would give a better perspective on how large the Palace actually was.

He slid down, Rias following after him in flight. It was a large trek around the colosseum, considering how large the building was too, but eventually they arrived in front of a unfamiliar sight.

A garden.

Compared to the rest of this world from what he had seen from the cliff, this place was extraordinarily lush. Bright green hedges formed a maze where someone could dwell in for eternity, rare flowers he had never seen before grew everywhere and golden bird statues stood out from the flora, towering above everything as if they were soaring high in the sky. Further up ahead was of course a gigantic statue of Riser himself, it wouldn't be a Palace with at least some narcissism included. At the end of the maze of green stood a large, almost ancient white temple. Pillars held the roof up high and various shadows patrolled along the place, intent on protecting their lord.

The space around them twisted for a bit, and the sight of the garden and ancient temple was replaced — albeit for a second — by a more modern mansion style house, significantly smaller than the gracious display they had witnessed before.

''The Phenex estate…'' Rias whispered.

He turned his head towards her, ready to inquire. ''It's the place where Riser and his family actually reside,'' she explained, ''I can't believe how much it has changed here.''

''This must be how he sees his house in his mind,'' he concluded. It made sense. A colosseum for those unworthy of his attention to be slaughtered, and his residence was a temple were he'd be revered for his purity. A Palace it was, for sure.

''Rias,'' he started, ''I just want to tell you this. If we head in, there will be no going back for us until we find that treasure. You might see a lot of things you won't be comfortable with. Even once we head back, you won't forget. Do you really want to do this?''

Rias stared him dead in the eyes, before smirking.

''I'm ready.''

With that, they dashed into the flower maze of Riser's palace, and he couldn't help but wonder.

What would he steal today?

* * *

**The P5 OST is surprisingly motivating, and I can just keep writing while listening to it. So maybe I'll actually be able to up my uploading frequency a bit.**

**Akira is getting back into the game and is slowly recovering his Personas, and Rias is tagging along too. The next chapter will most probably be a big chunk of Riser's palace, and Akira interacting with his new bonds. Cause that's what Persona is all about, them friendships and bonds.**

**Will Rias get a Persona? I have no idea, will she? I'm not really one to answer questions, I enjoy letting the chapters speak for themselves haha. One thing is for sure, this story will be heavily canon divergent, as through the addition of Palaces in the DxDverse a good portion of the villains can be switched around and the likes. I'm not a fan of just inserting the MC of one series and his powers into another universe, going along with the same story and calling it quits. This story will have lots of elements of its own. **

**With that said, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Leave me a review with your thoughts and I'll see you guys soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

''How much longer until we're out of this damn maze…''

''Come on, don't fall behind.''

They had been lost in the maze of flora for a while now. A quick glance at the layout of the garden before they entered was not enough to imprint every nook and cranny into Akira's brain. Dead ends were a common occurrence, they'd turn around as fast a possible if they heard footsteps, and the hedges were too tall to climb. They hadn't even entered the actual Palace, yet the difficulty of the situation was already kicking up.

''Who designed this place?! Can't we just blast through all these things instead?'' Rias asked, staring with what was almost a look hatred at another dead end they had come across. Akira sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

''If you want them to start chasing right after us, sure, go ahead,'' he replied, which made Rias pout. He understood her sentiment though, it seemed like though the garden was built with the sole intent of keeping them out. He started to take steps back in his mind, trying to note anything important they might've come across, but everytime he tried to stick a plan together in his mind, it fell apart with another thought. Rias's approach was becoming more appealing by the second.

''Hey Akira, this might be a bit far-fetched but…'' Rias trailed off for a moment, ''maybe one of the guards patrolling around here might know something?''

How stupid he had been.

That was a possibility he had overlooked. He even felt a bit ashamed considering how many keycards, passwords and the likes he had obtained from shadows that were just walking around the Palaces he had been to before. He nodded towards Rias, who seemed a bit surprised at the fact he had agreed with her plan, and the two of them walked back, this time chasing the sounds of footsteps instead of fleeing from them.

They snuck from hedge to hedge, making sure to stay out of sight. He focused, making the area around him darken again. He saw several presences around, but he only needed one. He scanned the area like a hawk searching for its prey, until his eyes landed on a special silhouette, surrounded by red flames. That was the one they needed.

He beckoned for Rias to follow him in that direction, and the two of them continued their sneaking journey. Once they were stationed at a hedge directly behind the shadow, he gestured for Rias to stay put, who looked like she was about to protest but didn't. He looked at the Shadow and started approaching.

The guards in Riser's Palace manifested themselves as knights, much like they had in Kamoshida's, only with a twist of their own. Instead of wearing only thick plate armor, they were covered in red robes as well, almost like actual temple attendants. On their backs they wore a magical crest, which Rias had clarified to be the symbol of the house of Phenex. Without wasting any more time, he jumped onto the shadow's shoulders and ripped of its mask.

Darkness flooded from the shadow's face, and soon something started manifesting. A large, purple demon, with the archetypical horns, twisted tail and all. It seemed to be naked apart from the yellow gloves and socks it wore. A boring expression fell across its face as it rested its head on its hand, occasionally scratching its white beard. It did not stand on the ground, but floated in the air, using a toilet of all things to keep itself up in the air.

Belphegor.

''So you wanna tussle, kid?'' the demon sneered at Akira. In the back of his head, he hoped that he would be recognized, that he and the demon could forge a contract once more. But this was not the Belphegor he knew. The real one was inside of him, somewhere deep in his heart, but he was unable to call out to him. This was one might look the same, but he was twisted, darker, tied to the real devils that existed in this world.

Belphegor roared and let out a torrent of ice. The frozen spikes spread across the ground, speeding towards Akira. He sidestepped to avoid getting impaled, whipped out his gun and took a shot. The shot landed, but Belphegor was still up and ready to go again. He'd have to melt the demon's ice in order to get through.

''Flauros!''

His leopard demon appeared behind him, and let out a roar to match Belphegor's. Belphegor launched another blast of frost in hopes to subdue Akira, but Flauros' flames turned the sharp spikes into harmless puddles of water. The raging beam of fire broke through Belphegor's ice, melting all of it, and eventually reached the demon itself, burning it to a crisp. The towering Belphegor dissolved into the shadows, leaving only a small object behind. Akira walked over towards the place where Belphegor once stood, and picked up the object. What he found was a token, in the shape of a golden phoenix. It fit the theme of Riser's palace rather well.

''The guy really likes these birds…'' Akira muttered as he played around. Rias meanwhile emerged from her hiding spot behind the hedges, and approached him. She took a long gander at the token as well, before sighing.

''Well, the powers of his house are similar to that of a phoenix,'' she said, ''control over wind, fire, even immortality-''

Akira rapidly snapped his head in her direction.

''Immortality?''

''Members from the house of Phenex are notorious for their high powered regenerative abilities,'' Rias explained, ignoring Akira's worried look, ''that's one of the reasons he thinks so highly of himself, he's convinced his powers have made him invincible.''

''Rias,'' Akira started slowly, ''have you ever considered sharing this with me before we went into the place that quite literally is an amplification of Riser's ego and most likely gives him even more power than he has in the real world?''

The silence was his answer.

With a sigh, he moved on. Rias followed along as per usual. They had obtained something they could use, but where would they use it?

''Maybe we should try going to that big statue?'' Rias suggested, once again enlightening Akira. It was always a statue, a painting — anything that represented the Palace ruler in all their glory. He twisted on his heel to change direction, and they went on towards the golden Riser statue.

As they approached the statue, which was Riser striking a majestic pose, the token started glowing. They could not take another action before the hedges around them started twisting and turning. The plants and flowers parted to the side, forming a path that lead straight to temple. He and Rias blinked in sync.

''I didn't expect it to be _that_ easy,'' Rias remarked, still staring at the path that had just opened up for them. Akira let out an amused grunt as he stuffed the token back in the pockets of his coat.

''This will also probably be the part where it stops being easy,'' Akira said. They resumed their path towards the temple, this time at a slower pace. They were now exposed out in the open, and a simple mistake could turn the hunter into the hunted. His gaze rested on the guards patrolling along the wide staircase that led up to the temple. Fighting all of them would be a problem. Various other shadows of what looked to be higher class devils also walked up the staircase, heading in to participate in whatever happened inside.

''Are we gonna have to fight them?'' Rias asked, nodding towards the shadows. ''There's quite a lot of them. Not saying we can't handle them, just don't want to waste too much time.''

''I have no idea,'' he answered, ''I've run into non-hostile shadows before. For all we know we might even get a warm welcome.''

They were both surprised when his off-hand comment became reality.

''Welcome!'' one of the guard shadows greeted them with a small bow. The two of them glanced at each other, trying to make sure this was not some kind of illusion. ''Allow me to guide you towards the temple of purity!''

''Temple of purity…'' Rias repeated in a hushed tone. Akira pushed her forward a bit, making sure she'd not keep standing there, lost in thought. They followed the shadow up the stairs. Perhaps to a path of answers.

Rias tugged at Akira's sleeve and pulled him down to her level. ''This could make for a wonderful trap,'' she whispered, glancing at the shadow from time to time. Akira could see that she was learning the ropes.

''We don't have that much choice,'' he said, staring ahead, ''we're surrounded here. When we enter we're probably going to be in a crowded area. A fight is going to start sooner or later.''

''What happened to the whole ''be cautious at all times'' mindset from not even a minute ago?'' she asked with a smirk on her face.

''Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Could you let go of my sleeve now please?''

''Oh, sorry.''

She let go with a light shade of pink on her cheeks. They continued following the shadow. No other words needed to be said, they already knew what they got themselves into. And soon they entered the temple.

Grand, was the first word that came to Akira's mind.

Marble floors, marble walls. Countless devils walked along the the temple floors. Gigantic cups filled with red liquid served as baths, and he did not see one that was not filled to the brim with devils trying to cleanse themselves. He didn't want to debate himself on whether the liquid was wine or blood. In the middle of this floor stood — oddly enough — a reception esque desk. A circular stone desk surrounded a single shadow, who stood ready to serve.

''Welcome to the temple of purity,'' the shadow behind the desk crooned. Akira and Rias walked forward, unsure of what to say. The shadow reached under the desk, and pulled out a document. ''Assuming this is your first visit, here's a map of the temple. The back section is only accessible to trustees and members of the Phenex family. The upper levels of the temple are only accessible to those who have gone through a test of purity.''

Rias looked on in a surprised manner as the shadow handed out a literal map of the Palace and all this precious information. Akira tried to puzzle together everything in his head. The back section must've been the part of the Palace he had entered through the colosseum. But he needed to dig deeper.

''Test of purity?''

''Yes. Only the purest of devils are allowed to enter the upper levels,'' the shadow explained, ''which is why, of course, we'll be getting rid of you now.''

He had seen something like that coming. What he hadn't seen coming was the giant mace that knocked all the air out of him.

* * *

She had never felt this hopeless.

The impending dread of being married off always lingered around, but that was never in the moment. She had always helped people, she had given them a chance to live a new life, and now she was about to watch someone's life waste away.

They had surprised them both. Then again, she should've known things couldn't go on that smoothly for so long. Guards had come out of nowhere to smack Akira down. Even as they had already subdued him onto the ground, they kept beating him. Was this really how the devils thought about humans in the back of their heads? Lesser tools that could only be used for their own means, and if useless they were to be discarded like trash?

She had tried to help him, but her red orbs of destruction seemed to do very little to the monstrosities of Riser's mind. She had seen him struggle too, most likely to call forth a Persona, but he did not get a chance to breathe. Soon she was restrained too, and the bindings of powerlessness were not the only things that held her back.

Riser appeared, his trademark smirk on his face. He waltzed around, looking down on Akira, who was still getting beat up. He then turned towards her, scoffing and shaking his head.

''I had a feeling in my gut you two pests would come back, but I didn't think you actually would,'' Riser said as he came closer and closer to Rias,'' you don't understand, do you? Purity is the only thing that still keeps our pitiful race alive. The power passed on through our blood is the only thing preventing the Underworld to be destroyed by Heaven. Can't you see that these reincarnated devils, these humans, these _slaves_ are ruining everything for us!''

''You're wrong,'' Rias managed to choke out, ''we've gotten even stronger through the Evil Pieces. Various Sacred Gears and other supernatural powers have assembled along our side. It looks like you and those old men are the ones that don't understand.''

Riser's response was to grab her by her chin. ''Foolish little girl. Those other powers pale in comparison to ours. Those reincarnated devils will never be like us. They're nothing but fodder to be used for our own entertainment. We literally play games with them, like they're nothing but pieces on a chess board. They're expandable, unlike us. But, if you like all those other races that much, I'll let you have the privilege of watching your human friend die a slow and painful death.''

He let go of her and walked over towards the guards and Akira. She could only imagine what he would do to him, and none of it was pleasant. Every single possible thought of fear flooded her mind. What would happen to Akira? What would happen to her peerage? What would happen to _her?_

''_**Dear, you're not just going to watch and let this happen, are you?''**_

A splitting headache assaulted her brain. She squirmed and shivered in the hold of the guards, the feeling of a thousand needles stinging her fleeted along her skin. Pain was the only thing she felt.

''_**You've saved countless of lives, gave the innocent a new chance. Don't let his wither away. Or are you going to leave him out in the cold?''**_

The voice echoed through her brain, through every fiber of her being. It was questioning her very existence, what she stood for.

''...N-no.''

''_**Very well then. Strengthen your resolve, and heed my power. We shall show them what Hell is really made of.''**_

''Who are you…?''

''_**I am the one who came before you. The one who is you, but isn't. Now, my sweet child, call upon my name. If they wish to talk about blood, show them the strength of your lineage. Show them the true power of a demon's heart!''**_

A mighty gust of wind blew away the guards that had surrounded Rias and Akira. Riser stood back, covering his face with his arm. Rias shook in pain, reaching for her face. The pain seemed to manifest itself on her face. A mask. It held back her feelings, her motives, what she truly was. With a firm tug, she ripped it off.

''_**I am Thou. Thou art I.''**_

Her scream echoed through the temple as the blood flowed down her face. The wind around her morphed into flames, and it started manifesting itself behind her. The flames turned blue, and slowly solidified themselves into cloth. A woman with vile, red skin appeared, and the blue cloth soon became part of her as her dress. A camel appeared beneath her and caught her on her back, serving as her mount.

Rias's school uniform had been replaced by a red suit, much like her hair. Armor adorned her shoulders and chest. She opened her eyes, and she could see what she couldn't before. She pointed towards the guards with her finger, ready to issue the decisive order. It would be destruction. She wouldn't hide anymore, not from her enemies, nor from herself.

''Come… Gremory!''

The flames dispersed outwards, burning the nearby guards to a crisp. They were gone in mere seconds. In the meantime, Akira stood up. A golden light started to shine behind him, and with another gust of wind, an angel appeared. Archangel's red eyes glanced at the demon besides him.

''_**Hm. I already have trouble retaining my composure with the various sinful beings in your heart, Contractor. But for your sake, I shall assist this one in the bloody trial of combat for eternity, if you were to wish so.''**_

The two of them stood together, angel and demon side by side. Akira turned towards Rias and gave her a smile.

''Well, here's the answer to your question from yesterday,'' he said jokingly.

She grinned. ''Let's take care of them.''

Riser stumbled back, his face maintaining composure but his body quaking in fear. He beckoned with his hand towards the remaining guards. ''What are you standing there for?! Destroy them! Kill them! Hurry it up!''

Even as another dozen of shadows charged at them, Rias and Akira stood valiant. Their Personas prepared themselves, with Archangel drawing its blade and Gremory preparing her magic. Gremory smiled at Archangel.

''_**Guardian of Heaven, do you think you can match up to the flames of Hell and the seductive embrace of death I bring? Perhaps you would want to tell your contractor he ought to bring another ''sinful creature'' out instead.''**_

''_**Don't make me laugh, demon. I have vanquished hundreds of your kind with this very sword. Your trickery pales in comparison to my holy blade, and I shall show thee that.''**_

They wouldn't have thought. A demon and angel fighting alongside each other.

* * *

''Come on, almost there.''

Akira and Rias jogged up the stairs that lead up to the very top of the spire in the temple. They had scavenged the place, and had destroyed any shadow that stood in their way. Now they were coming close to their objective.

The treasure.

Akira couldn't help but wonder what Riser's treasure would be like. He'd have to wait until everything was done, of course, to see what it was like in the real world, but the thought of it interested him. What was a legendary item in the cognitive world could turn into a plain object in the real world. The source of a devil's distorted desires was bound to be something interesting though. Maybe it'd be an actual treasure too this time. Or they'd pawn it off to someone and use the money to buy food, like he had done the first time he succeeded in a Palace.

''You've been saying that for the past hour,'' Rias panted as she forced herself to walk up the stairs. He looked back at her. The skin that was left exposed by her suit was bruised, her knees were wobbling and it looked like she could not continue forward much longer. It was understandable. A rush through the Palace and the awakening of a Persona was taxing on both mind and body.

''Don't be like that,'' he muttered somewhat jokingly and worryingly at the same time. ''Let's not forget the stakes that are at hand here.''

That comment was enough to reignite the flames of determination inside Rias. She bit her lip, holding her negativity back, and they continued their climb along what seemed to be the endless stairs. But he could feel it. The small spark of want was becoming a huge light of desire. The treasure was just within reach.

The stairs soon reached an end. They stopped for a bit, taking their time to catch their breaths. Contrary to the other Palaces he had been too, Akira found this one to be quite less hospitable. In the sense that there were very few places where they could rest. On their way here, they could not stop for a minute before the marching of shadows disturbed their rest. Very few places had a lack of distortion. Akira did not know whether that was an inherent quality of the Metaverse in this world, or whether Riser's distorted thoughts were just that strong.

In front of them now was a large open room. No doors, no gates, no guards. It spanned far and wide, perhaps the biggest room they had seen in the Palace so far. The purple light from the Underworld's sky illuminated the room through the windows. Countless of vials with some kind of clear liquid were stacked against the walls. What stood out most was the floor however, which had the shape of a large chess board. Above the board it hovered, the shining and vague outline of the treasure.

"This is it," Akira said as he walked over towards the treasure, with Rias following behind per usual. The treasure's light was almost intoxicating, pulling him into a world of his wildest dreams. He was almost shaking with anticipation for stealing it. This must've been how Morgana had felt whenever he saw something shiny. How he had missed this feeling.

"Doesn't look much like a treasure to me," Rias said, and she looked surprisingly disappointed. "How are we even supposed to steal this? It's just a light. And Riser doesn't seem to be around here either…"

Akira hummed, still staring at the treasure. "There was a step I forgot to mention when we spoke on the rooftop," he answered, turning his head to Rias. "We still have to make the treasure manifest in order to be able to steal it. And for the treasure to be manifested, the real Riser must be alerted." Rias was about to say something, but he cut her off, "How you ask? Allow me to show you…"

He reached into his coat with an elegant fashion. Rias could only roll her eyes at his antics. He pulled something out of his coat's pocket with a smirk.

"A calling card?" Rias said in confusion, "is that gonna help us manifest the treasure?"

"Indeed. Now," Akira walked over to Rias and placed the card in her hand, "I think I can leave this part of the job up to you. Write some provocative message, something that will really piss Riser off, and make sure it gets to his hands. He _has _to read it. There's no other way for it to work otherwise. Make sure our identities are not revealed, but I'm sure you got that part." He squeezed her hand. "With this, you'll be free."

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand back. Her smile soon fell though. "But we still have to deal with Riser," she muttered, "and as much as I hate to admit it, he's strong. I don't think I could face him in real life, let alone in a world that is built around him."

"Do you think that Persona would have manifested if you didn't believe in yourself?" Rias's eyes widened in response to his words. "Your heart is already growing stronger, your brain just hasn't acknowledged yet. Hell, you even forced me to take you along, even when I told you it was dangerous. You can't quit now." His serious look then changed into a smile. "I can't let you do that after all the stuff you put me through. Those guards almost broke my bones you know?"

She couldn't help but giggle. "You're right. We'll beat Riser. Together."

"That's what I like to hear," he said, letting go off her hand. "We've secured a route to the treasure now. I'm impressed you managed to pull through all the way. We still have a lot of time left, so you can take your time with the calling card. Resting up well is important before we take Riser down."

"I'll send it tomorrow," Rias said with determination. "I can't stand the wait. The sooner the better."

"Then we'll be able to head in the day after," Akira nodded, "with that everything should be settled. Let's leave, we both should muster up all the energy we can."

Akira turned around towards the exit, but Rias stood there, staring at his back. When he noticed she was not coming with him, he stopped and looked back. He cocked his head to the side, a silent gesture to ask what was wrong. The only thing he got out of her was a laugh.

"I still can't believe it," she said in between laughs, her tone a mix of amusement and disbelief, "just who are you?"

He too could only smile to that.

"Just a thief."

* * *

He hated the waiting game.

It was always the hardest part. Struggling through Palaces and then still having to wait to harvest the fruits of his labor. It was only a break of two days before he could go back into the Palace and finish things up, but it felt like two centuries.

Rias had told him she had taken care of the calling card business. Through the texts he had gotten from her, she seemed very proud of the job she had done. A member of Rias's family apparently served as some sort of delegate between the house of Gremory and house of Phenex, regarding all the marriage related stuff at least. Through a small lie she had managed to convince said delegate that she had received something meant for Riser. And thus the calling card was passed on. He didn't know how well devils could see through lies, but if Rias had told him it had worked out, he trusted her.

Once again, they would not see each other in person until they would snatch the treasure tomorrow. It was mostly for Rias's sake. Anxiousness was unavoidable, but he knew that if they were to meet up she would only want to talk about the palace. Her mind was already on it all the time, and he didn't want her to force anymore stress onto herself. Thus he spent this break alone, behind the gymnasium, far from anyone else.

Or so he thought.

''Fancy seeing you here, Akira-kun.''

He looked up from his spot on the ground to the direction of the sweet voice. Akeno Himejima.

A beautiful young lady, and Rias's right hand. Just as revered by the students as well. They were in the same class, but had never interacted until this moment. He always saw her smiling to everyone who passed by, to everyone who exchanged a glance with her. But her smile was set in stone. Static. What hid behind that smile was something probably only the only members of the Occult Research Club knew about.

''Anything I can help you with, Himejima-san?'' he asked. She wouldn't come her without a reason. That was for sure. Whether she would tell him why was a whole other story though.

''Nothing in particular,'' she said, smiling as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face, ''I'm just curious to see why you're not hanging around with the President, as you have as of late.''

His suspicions were confirmed. She was onto something. It was no surprise, the rest of Rias's club member were also devils. The chance that they would miss out on anything happen in their own domain was rather slim.

''We got acquainted, yes,'' Akira answered, calm as ever. ''I suppose you don't have a problem with two people getting to know each other better.''

''Certainly not. Where my concern lies is how little she wishes to share about you and her interactions with you,'' Akeno chirped. ''To think the President would hide things from me of all people… perhaps you know more than you seem to. The mysterious and quiet transfer student, almost unseen, starts getting along with one of the most popular girls of the school,'' Akeno giggled, ''it sounds almost like a modern fairy tale.''

''I can assure you that it's nothing like that. Your concerns might be a tad misplaced,'' he said in return. Playing it off was the only option. He could go back at her with all bark and bite but it'd be pointless. Leaving himself and Rias out of trouble was his first priority.

''Maybe you're right. I just want to make a single thing clear,'' Akeno said, leaning down a bit to Akira's level. Her smile was still there, but he could feel how it had changed. The harsh cold of her aura was leaking through.

''Rias is very precious to me. I owe a lot to her. If something were to happen to her, I wouldn't appreciate it.''

He pushed his glasses up. Maybe they were too dirty to see what was actually going on.

''Is this a threat, Himejima-san?''

''Take it as you will,'' Akeno replied, as she stood back up straight, ''that was all I wanted to talk with you about. Good day, Akira-kun.'' She turned around and walked off, leaving Akira alone. He could only stare at her slowly disappearing figure as she strolled back to wherever she came from. It was just like the man in the room had said.

Devils. Very interesting bunch.

He sighed and leaned back against the wall of the gymnasium, sinking into the grass he sat on. The sunrays danced along his face. He wondered, what would come after? Rias had nothing to seek once Riser's heart would be changed. He would most likely have to go solo from then on. But she had awakened a Persona. She knew about him and some of his secrets. Her help so far had been invaluable, but she had too many responsibilities outside of scouring the Metaverse, which he lacked. Members of her peerage were already growing suspicious, he could only imagine what would happen if she continued to come along with him and his little escapades to the Metaverse.

It also made him wonder if he would ever see angels and devils go about in the real world. They did exist after all. The thought that these things were actually real and their shadows were even worse version of them wasn't comforting in the least.

He could only wait and hope

* * *

As expected, security had changed.

Akira and Rias had rushed through the palace without any issues. All guard shadows were missing in the spots were they once stood, and Akira had assumed they had left to guard the treasure room. The lack of shadows gave the temple a truly eerie feel, and the only sounds they could hear in the silence of the building was the beating of their own hearts.

They were traversing their way up the stairs again, trodding towards the top. He always kept glancing back at Rias every minute or so, to make sure everything was alright. Her confidence had pretty much solidified itself on her face. She was ready to face Riser.

Soon they found themselves in the treasure room. The sight was concerning. No guards. No monsters. Just Riser.

Riser stood there, his back facing towards them. In his hand was now a golden scepter, the manifested treasure. The scepter seemed like a simple staff at first, but on top of it was a shining orb, held up by small carvings of humanoid figures. The lowliest masses were the support of Riser's ''greatness''. Riser turned around when they stepped foot into the room, a smug smile on his face.

''Well, it's just the three of us now,'' Riser remarked, ''to think you would continue this fool's errand… I don't know whether I should applaud your stubbornness or condemn it.''

''You talk a lot for someone who is about to be taught a lesson. You even had to call your guards off cause you knew we'd cut through them,'' Rias called out, to which Riser laughed in response.

''You think I need those useless worms? They were little roadblocks to make you enjoy life a bit longer and for me to see you struggle a tad more. You don't stand a chance against me. I have surpassed all high-class devils, all the Pillars, even the Satans!''

Riser took a step forward, and Akira and Rias manifested their Personas the moment he did. His mocking laughter grew only louder.

''Amusing, amusing!'' Riser shouted. ''A mere step is all I need to make you fear and cower. That is how much stronger I am than you plebeians. And even if you were to strike me down, my flames would simply reignite themselves again. The tears of pain will cleanse my wounds. You are but insignificant pests who were stupid enough to try and go against me. You're _nothing_.''

Akira huffed, and Archangel drew his blade. ''Your blood won't save you against us. The treasure's already ours.''

But the more they talked, the more hysterical Riser's laugh grew.

''Perhaps you can kill me. You'll make me die of laughter at this point,'' Riser said as he wiped a tear out of his eyes, ''oh give it up, little human. Even with an angel on your side you can't come close to what I am. I have more than just the purest blood, I have power beyond the comprehension of any mortal!''

''Shut up and fight then!'' Rias shouted back. ''If you'll heal your wounds, we'll inflict more. If your flames come back, we'll douse them again. I won't let you go about your way without anyone stopping you any longer!''

Riser's smile turned into a wicked grin.

''As you wish.''

His laughter became distorted, and the pitch of his voice lowered. His body start twitching, but he kept laughing, even when it looked like his limbs were about to shake off his own body. Akira started sweating. He wasn't afraid, it was that the temperature in the room quite literally skyrocketed the moment Riser started spazzing out. He felt like he was being cooked alive.

The red cloth of Riser's suit expanded, catching fire along with his shoulder plates. His face split and out of it came even more flames. His body was consumed in an inferno as he grew in stature. Akira and Rias could only watch as the sea of flames started growing towards the ceiling.

Soon wings spread out of the inferno. Claws came out of the bottom, and a sharp beak came out of the top. A large bird of flame hovered in the middle of the room where Riser once stood. A phoenix.

''_**Not so cocky now, are we?!''**_ the monstrous form of Riser screamed.

Akira looked at Rias, and she looked back at him. Both nodded. Their Personas stood ready to withstand whatever Riser was about to throw at them. They would retaliate. They would defy his blood.

Riser flapped his wings, and a torrent of wind blasted through the room. Akira and Rias braced themselves, barely being able to keep standing. Various objects throughout the room caught fire in an instant, the flames soon spreading around, surrounding all of them in a circular formation. Now there was no going back until they had snuffed Riser and his flames out.

Another terrifying howl escaped from Riser's beak, as he flapped and flapped his wings. His bright red eyes glowed with anger, and he dove towards Akira and Rias, fire bursting out from behind him.

''_**I'll burn you. I'LL BURN YOU UNTIL EVEN YOUR ASHES WON'T BE LEFT TO MOURN YOUR DEATHS!''**_

* * *

**Three chapters in a week, who would've thought? I'm just really pumped for this story. It might not get as much attention, but I don't really write for the followers anyway. I just publish this to share my work with the hopes that people will enjoy it and to give the readers something they can keep looking forward to. But who knows, maybe this story will end up growing popular, a Demon among Devils has been at the top of this section for too long anyway haha.**

**So we've reached the end of the first Palace, and the confrontation with Riser will continue next chapter. Now a lot of you must be wondering about why not that much of the actual Palace was shown. It's quite simple; this is a story, not a game. Going through a bunch of corridors and fighting the same monsters again and again is fun for a scene or two, but you can't keep on reading/writing that forever, honestly. The scenes in the Palace are displaying the important parts to the plot and character development, like any scene should.**

**Yes, Rias got a Persona, you should've seen it coming. And it's the demon who shares her name too. Gremory is quite the underused demon in SMT, and I don't think I've actually seen her featured in a Persona game. This is not just for the sake of coolness or whatever, this ties in with the story and things that are going to come of course.**

**I've blabbered on for too long now. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter. Please leave a review with your thoughts so far and I'll see you guys next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

The sea of flames had consumed the room. The chess board floor had become the burning battlefield, with not a single thing left untouched by the fire. Collapsed pillars and columns littered the floor, sometimes getting in the way but also providing protection for Rias and Akira as they danced the dance of death with Riser.

And they were losing.

Gremory's magic was futile. Even if it was a Persona, Riser seemed to know the ins and outs of anything demonic. Flauros' flames were tiny embers compared to the inferno Riser caused whenever he flapped his wings, and they ended up only adding more fuel to Riser's fire. Archangel's attacks got through, but no matter which limb or wing was cut off by its holy blade, a new one was born out of the flames of the Phoenix body. Each time they broke through Riser's defenses, it was like the clock turned back. The unseen hand of fate dropped them back off at square one.

''_**Why do you try to run now? Were you not cocky a mere moment ago? DID YOU NOT THINK YOU COULD DEFY ME?!''**_

Riser's screams echoed through the room as his flames chased them like mad hounds at their heels. Akira pulled his gun out and shot Riser, hoping to slow him down. With each bullet he wasted, he got a mad cackle from Riser in return. They were being toyed with it. Riser was not flying after them at full speed either. He wanted to enjoy seeing them run for as long as he could.

''Rias, down to the left!''

A fiery explosion scorched the floor where they once stood. With his seasoned reflexes, Akira had managed to grab Rias and dive behind a pile of collapsed columns. They were both panting as they crawled through the shadows. The heat in the room was less of an issue now, and the flames had not reached this space yet, but how long would it last?

''_**And now you hide. I too was a fool to expect you to put your money where your mouth is. I'll let you rats of scurry for a little while though, that will make it a lot more better when I turn you to ashes.''**_

The fact that he was even giving them time made it clear it was all a game to Riser. The two of them leaned against the back of the rubble, making sure not to hit their heads. Rias let out a deep breath, and looked at Akira, sweat still dripping down her face.

''We can't stay here for long,'' she managed to get out, ''whatever he says, he could attack at any moment. What do we do?''

He remained silent. This was one of the moments he didn't want to admit that he didn't know. Their Personas were outmatched, using guns was a waste of time, and going in to fight hand to hand was asking to get burned. Would his quest end here? Was he going to fail a second time?

Any other thought was interrupted by the blast of flames that cut through the rubble, separating him from Rias. He had heard her scream his name, but it did not get through to him. The sizzling roars coming from the flames were muffled. His body refused to move an inch. The rubble above him was spread out and blasted away by a gust of wind, and Riser hovered above him. Even with a bird's face his expression was unmistakingly smug.

''_**Tell me, what was the point of all of this?''**_ Riser crooned. ''_**What would you gain from this? Don't tell me you were thinking you were just being the good guy. You don't belong here. Meddling with our affairs is like asking for a death wish. You stepped into the devil's den, and now you reap what you sowed. Remember this grand sight, my incandescent glory, as your last hopeless memory as I burn you into oblivion. Remember as I, Riser Phenex, turned everything you tried to protect into ash. REMEMBER THE MOMENT THE FLAMES OF A GOD SEALED YOUR FATE!"**_

And he remembered. Something else entirely.

A new presence flared up from his heart, bearing a grin that would bring warmth. Yet it was a cold presence, so cold it made the temperature in the room drop from its near volcanic levels. Riser halted his descent towards Akira, and looked around in confusion, seemingly not understanding why his flames were not burning as brightly anymore. A freezing sensation tingled along Akira's skin, before a voice finally spoke up in his head.

''_**Hee-ho! It seems my loyal subject is in some hee-trouble-ho!'' **_

A giant snowball started manifesting behind Akira. A single snowball became two. Hands and arms popped out of the larger one, and with each added part the cold in the area grew harsher.

''_**I'll free-hee-ze all of those in our way solid, ho!''**_

A golden crown settled upon the creature's head, accentuating its royal features. A staff equally as gold appeared in its hand. Black eyes and a black mouth popped out on its face. The mouth was grinning and the eyes were wide open, giving the creature an uncanny mix of something adorable and something terrifying. Golden plates covered its torso, sealed with a giant lock. The cold that would otherwise leak out would be too much to handle.

''_**I am you, and you are me! I am King Frost, ho!''**_

Riser stared at King Frost and Akira, not saying a word. He soon burst out into a fit of maniacal laughter, the sound of it almost making the room shake.

''_**This is your last resort? What is that, your stuffed animal you cuddle in bed? Even in your last moments your idiocy does not fail to amuse me.''**_

Akira smiled. Riser was getting it all wrong, he was not the one about to be amused.

Thanks to Riser's comment, King Frost's cheerful expression morphed into a frown. A very angry frown.

''_**You ho-hold your horses. If you insult me and my subjects like that, I will be getting really really hee mad.''**_

Riser kept on laughing, unaware of what he was getting himself into. ''_**And what are you gonna do it about it, foolish creature?''**_

King Frost slammed his staff on the floor, and grinned once again.

''_**I am going to hee-ho kill you~''**_

The slightly milder temperature in the room dropped to an arctic freezing point. King Frost kept slamming his staff on the floor, and ice soon spread out from underneath. The power of Mabufudyne covered the room, dousing the flames in an instant and covering everything in ice. Rias looked around in awe as the fire that had split her from Akira disappeared in an instant. Riser however stuttered around in fear and confusion as his undefeatable flames vanished right in front of his eyes.

''_**No,'' **_Riser muttered, ''_**this can't be real…! A Phoenix's flames are always burning! They can't be extinguished!''**_

As Riser was lost in his insecurities, King Frost lifted his staff again, and issued his final decree. Riser's body slowly stopped moving, as tiny pieces of frost crept upon his wings. The tiny pieces soon turned into large chunks of ice that were covering up Riser's body at a rapid pace. The once so proud Riser could do nothing but scream as he was turning into an ice sculpture, hovering in the air. With a final tap of King Frost's staff on the floor, the frozen Phoenix exploded into tiny little fragments, making the real Riser emerge from within along with the treasure. Riser fell down onto the ground and skidded further away from them, while the scepter rolled towards them. Akira let the scepter pass by as it landed at Rias's feet. She stood up and grabbed hold of it, looking at Akira, who gave her a confirming nod.

Riser's flames were extinguished, and theirs were reignited.

They walked up towards Riser, who was struggling to get up to no avail. The sound of Rias smacking the scepter against her own hand alerted Riser, and he tried to crawl away from them along the frozen floor.

''No, please,'' Riser whimpered, ''I-I can give you anything you want! Money, power, Phoenix tears, whatever you desire!''

Rias's gaze turned into a stern glare as she looked down upon Riser's cowering form. ''You know damn well what I want,'' Rias said in a low tone, ''call of the marriage, Riser. Call it off and our business here is done.''

Riser slammed his fist on the icy floor, gritting his teeth. ''How many times do I have to tell you,'' he growled out, his voice a mix between fear and frustration, ''there is no other way! You think I want to follow the plans of this senile old bastards all the time?! I'm nothing more than a machine for some additional praise in the Rating Games. I live in the shadows of my brothers and their accomplishments, and I'm left as nothing but a tool to gather more fame for my house. Something as simple as a damn marriage doesn't mean anything.''

''Your own suffering isn't a reason to project the same onto others,'' Akira said, ''no one likes to be treated like they're an object that is just passed around, in order to fulfill the goals of whoever gets their hands on it.''

Riser laughed, irked and defeated. ''You wouldn't understand. But Rias,'' he addressed her, turning his head towards her, ''you would, right?''

''Don't think I do,'' she replied, ''we're both important in our respective families, Riser. We both get expectations forced upon us. The difference between us is that I don't indulge in my status and the power that comes along with it. My blood doesn't determine who I am.''

''You make it all seem so easy,'' Riser huffed, ''but that's what happens when your house is ran by softies. How many times do you think your brother and that Sitri woman wanted to interfere in all the affairs involving you? Yet their positions held them back,'' Riser chuckled. ''Funny, isn't it? We take the power from our leaders, to prevent another tyranny, yet we have them keep the names of the ones we supposedly despised the most. The higher ranking devils revive others like mad men, yet a stigma of elitism still lingers among them. It's like the whole Underworld is playing a game of pretend.''

''Then be the first one to make the change'', Akira said. ''Don't let your future be decided by your leaders, your family, or your heritage. Don't try to be Riser of the Phenex family, or Riser the Rating Game player. Just be Riser, the man you want to be.''

Riser looked down onto his reflection on the frozen floor.

''You're… right.''

Riser's body started glowing, and his form started fading. He looked at Riser and Akira, a small, sad smile on his lips.

''I'll reunite with my true self now. The marriage will be called off. Farewell.''

After a few seconds the shadow fully faded away. Rias let out a sigh as she sat down on the floor.

''You have no idea how glad I am this is over,'' she muttered.

It wasn't yet.

The frozen floor started shaking. The walls of the room started falling forward, adding onto the icy debris. Rias almost shot up from her sitting position. She sent Akira a questioning and panicked look. He gave a shrug in response.

''We still have to run.''

* * *

The darkness of the room was as unwelcoming as always. He fell into his routine of walking towards the desk in silence, waiting until the man behind the desk would addressed him. This time the man was tapping his fingers on the desk loudly, almost in an impatient fashion. His head soon turned towards Akira, and that grin Akira could never get a read on made itself known.

They had escaped Riser's palace without much trouble. Ten days were left until the engagement party, and Rias didn't bother with hiding her anxiety. At this point he didn't even doubt whether the change of heart would happen, so his mind was free of worry. He had been waiting to slip into this dark place again from his slumber, with the hopes of getting a push in the right direction, and after a few nights he had finally returned.

''The first one to be taken down was a flaming beast of lust, huh,'' the man started, ''blinded by his power, but could see all when it came to which woman he'd pick next. Amusing fellow.''

In comparison to Igor, or rather Yaldabaoth disguised as Igor, this man was rather direct with what he thought. No mindless droning about a meaningless rehabilitation or blatant dodging of questions. If he wanted to tell Akira something, he would. If he didn't want to, he wouldn't. Akira liked the straightforwardness, but it helped very little with understanding what the mysterious man actually wanted. He had been here a grand total of three times now, but the lack of information about the room itself and the person who ran it was quite a bother.

''So what's the plan now?'' the man asked. ''That girl seems to have gotten an understanding of how things work. I wonder what you two will get into next.''

''I… am considering to part ways with her.''

The man's grin faded and turned into a genuine look of surprise.

''Oh?''

What could he say? Rias had a lot to lose. He had shared a lot of common ground with his previous group, as they were all outcasts who didn't belong, but the similarities between him and Rias could be counted on one hand. After his little talk with Akeno he had realized that he did not want to put the lives of Rias _and_ her group further at stake. Besides, what interest would she have in continuing?

"Wait, I think I get it now," the man smiled, "fear consumes your heart, doesn't it?"

Akira frowned. He wouldn't call it fear. It was more of an avoidance of unnecessary risks. His wildcard powers would already cause too much of a stir in the world if too many found out. Rias could deal with Flauros and Archangel, but there was no telling what she and other supernatural beings would do if the likes of Metatron and Satan came back to him.

"Now don't give me that look," the man cooed, "you know damn well that I'm right. You loved your previous compatriots. Some in different ways of course, but your bonds were unbreakable nonetheless. But they died. And now you fear forging bonds as strong as those you once had, because you are afraid of losing them again."

A sigh escaped Akira's lips. Even if people called him unresponsive and overly calm, he was apparently too easy to read for this guy.

"Is it so bad to not want to lose your friends over and over again?" Akira asked, more to himself than to the man.

"If you were so terrified of losing them, you wouldn't have made friends in the first place. You will either push everyone who gets close to you away, moving on alone with the pain of loneliness, or always carry the fear of losing your friends, but experience the joy and enrichment they bring to your life, even if you might lose it again."

The man chuckled, and tapped his fingers on his desk.

"It's a simple question, Akira. Would you rather go on alone and supported, or complete your task with the support of your bonds, even if it's just for a little while?"

A simple question indeed.

He had strayed from his path. It had always been his friends who had helped him through everything. From late night studying to confronting a god, nothing had been too much for the Phantom Thieves. Even in a new world, the same principle.

"I understand," Akira said, "I have to use the power of my bonds to get through all of this."

"Good," the man nodded, "I was almost thinking I'd have to give you an actual wake up call. Good thing it didn't get to that point…" the man coughed to regain his composure. "Anyway, back to the business. Still no signs of ruin in sight, so you're pretty much free to operate however you want. Keep in mind you will gain notoriety among the supernatural groups at some point though. There is also something that can be considered… bad news."

Oh no.

"There's a wildcard out there," the man said in a surprisingly serious tone, "whether it's with the same purpose as that wretched Demiurge had planned last time is unknown. But it's very much a thing. So if you see someone blasting out multiple Personas out there, be careful."

Somewhere deep down inside Akira hoped it was Akechi. They had formed a very strange degree of respect and trust in each other in Akechi's final moments in Shido's Palace. Maybe his repayment for his sacrifice could be another shot at the life the teenage detective had wasted? The chance of that was very slim, however, if existent at all.

"How do you even know all of this?" Akira asked with narrowed eyes, growing a tad suspicious, "You don't look like you came from my world."

The man let out a sinister chuckle. "The Dimensional Gap is a _wonderful_ place. Let's just say I've seen plenty, even when stuck in one place for a long time. Also, there was something else I wanted to show you…"

Akira was about to protest, this was a subject he wouldn't let the man dodge. But then the man pointed towards something off in the corner of the room, and Akira forgot of all the accusations he was about to make.

There stood two large guillotines. Their blades gleamed even in the darkness of the room. Two large holes ready to fit beings three times the size of Akira were carved into the machines. And of course above each hole, a shining magical emblem, ready to fuse whatever was offered together. Even though he already had his Personas — they simply weren't all accessible — the guillotines felt different. Like they could do more than they did in the Velvet Room. Akira looked back at the man, whose grin was threatening to split his face.

"Seems familiar?"

Akira couldn't help but let his lips curve upwards. He liked this place a lot more now.

* * *

_"I've barely been sleeping lately. Only nine days left until we find out if it worked. Do you know how anxious I am?"_

_"Yes Rias, you've been sending me these texts from seven in the morning until midnight almost every day."_

He smiled as he put his phone back in his pocket. Rias wouldn't shut up about their little adventure. Her happiness and excitement would practically radiate off the screen whenever she texted him. He could not deny that some good vibes welled up in his stomach because of that too; being able to make others feel better just did something to his psyche.

The two of them had once again stopped seeing each other for some time, but they kept in contact through texts at all times. They had both simultaneously suggested to lay low for a while, which at that moment had resulted in some laughs from her side and a couple chuckles from his. It was for the better though. With a bit of downtime Rias's peerage would most likely grow less suspicious, which would both take some stress off Rias's shoulders and he would not have to deal with any more confrontations. A win-win situation, he thought. The only problem was that there was no telling when their next target would pop up, so their time of peace could either last for months or days.

His Phantom Thief business aside, today fate had decreed him to take another route back home. An not so tactically placed construction site had blocked his usual and shortest path back from school, so he was forced to take another way around. The longer walk did give him a better view of Kuoh thought. The only locations he ever visited were school and the grocery store near his apartment. It was a good chance for him to get a better look at the town. For example, he had never seen the church before he was just passing by now, and neither the girl in rags that was sitting on the steps leading to it.

He stopped walking.

The girl looked young, perhaps a year or two his junior. She was shaking, clutching to the remnant of a blue robe wrapped around her. Her long blonde hair was dirty and her green eyes were teary. He slowly approached her, hoping not to scare her.

''Are you okay…?'' he asked in a soft tone. The girl looked up at him, giving him a thin smile, before she fell forward. Akira managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Girls used to fall for him, but not in this way.

* * *

Asia Argento was her name.

She had been surprisingly calm about the situation. Currently she laid in his bed, patched up and in fresh clothes. Taking her to a hospital was not a viable option, so he had to do with home care. His level of medical treatment was nothing out of the ordinary, but his time spent in Palaces had taught him a thing or two.

But she was in bad shape. No band aids would help her for long. The damage to her body was treatable, but he felt that there was something off with her that went past the level of physical treatment.

They had talked for a while after Asia had woken up. He didn't want to pry into what could have happened while she was in such a fragile state, so it had just been small talk. He had made her some food, which she had accepted with a smile, but she didn't end up eating much. She more than likely _couldn't_ eat much. Now they were sitting there in silence, with Asia staring at her lap and Akira sitting besides her.

''Do you know, Akira-san?'' she asked quietly, ''Do you know about the other things that live around here?''

He remained silent for a while before nodding. ''Are you referring to the supernatural beings?''

''Yes. The people who… kept me in that church were like that.''

Akira frowned. ''Were you kept against your will?''

''Well, I didn't come there on my own accord, but,'' a sad smile adorned Asia's face, ''they were not much different from me. They were fallen angels, I was a priestess excommunicated from the church. All miserable but with no place to go. But now they're gone too.''

His worried frown deepened. Things were starting to click together in a fashion he didn't like. First a possibly targeted mental shutdown on a highschool student, then some fallen angels were attacked. He'd have to talk with Rias about this.

''I don't think that's all,'' Asia continued in a soft voice,'' I don't think I'll be around for much longer.''

It was a big dilemma. He did not know her, yet she had pretty much spilled her guts in front of him. And it brought him to another realization.

He was powerless outside of the Metaverse.

In his old world, all the commotion was in the Palaces. He could fight with his Personas, weaponry, and whatever, but in the real world he lacked all of those. Without the Metaverse, what could he have possibly done against Shido? Even Yaldabaoth, a god, needed the alternate world to set his plans in action.

''_**But, wilt Thou stay helpless forever?''**_

He did not expect a voice to ring out at this very moment.

A warm, golden presence flowed out from his heart. Light started forming around him, and Asia could only watch with wide eyes and an open mouth.

''_**Believe in Thyself. For My power and that of many others rests within your heart.''**_

Bright, golden armor took shape behind him. Feathers danced around him and merged together into wings that were almost as bright as the surrounded him.

''_**I am Thou. Thou art I.''**_

A golden mask looked down upon Asia's frail body. He could swear he saw the lips of the mask twitch into a smile, be it only for a brief second.

''_**I am Sandalphon. I have come to answer Thy prayers.''**_

Asia's eyes remained wide in awe, but her open mouth morphed into a very large smile. Something fluttered in Akira's heart as he saw her expression radiate happiness at the sight of the angel.

''Uh, Mr. Angel-sama Sir?'' Asia stuttered. She shook, probably in excitement but maybe in fear too, and clutched the sheets of his bed tightly with her small hands.

Sandalphon nodded. ''_**What bothers thee, young one?''**_

Asia swallowed a lump in her throat.

''A-are you real?''

Sandalphon let out a hearty chuckle in response. ''_**This must be quite the shock for you. But I exist in this moment. I have come to answer the prayers of Thee and my Contractor.''**_

Akira remembered the countless times Sandalphon's powers had helped him in the Metaverse. While he could heal many wounds and make his friends stand up to fight once more, he could still pack a punch. Not as much as his brother though. If Sandalphon was the kind doctor on the battlefield, Metatron was the steeled veteran.

It looked like Asia's day was made. Though after a while, she looked down, refusing to meet Sandalphon's gaze. ''But, the church excommunicated me. They said God would never accept me after what I did…'' she muttered.

That brought something up in Akira's mind. Why did she get excommunicated?

Sandalphon's gaze remained fixated on Asia. ''_**Men have no say in who stands before the Golden Gates. Men are bound by their mortality, and decide nothing once their time on this earth ends.''**_

The apartment shook slightly, making some of the furniture fall over. The windows burst open, and a harsh wind blew through the room.

''_**Men have no right to deny you of anything.''**_

Asia bit her lip, and nodded at the angel's words. Akira looked at her, worried once again. Sandalphon was most likely right, but that still didn't change the reality that she had been banished.

Sandalphon placed a hand on Asia's head, and she let out a small yelp. ''_**Do not fear the future. Many waste their lives in hopes of ascending to a better place. But if you do not live your life on earth like you would want in Heaven, where would you get the virtue and kindness to be able to get up the stairway?''**_

A green light danced around Asia's body. Her bruises and cuts vanished, her pale skin regained its color and her eyes became filled with life once more. She moved her hands and fingers, in shock at the fact her body seemed to be functioning like normal again. Sandalphon removed his hand from her head and crossed his arms. His head turned towards the ceiling, almost as if he was trying to look for the heavens themselves.

''_**You are not abandoned by the Light until you've strayed from it. But still. The Light in this world is strange. It shines not as bright as it should. Perhaps this is an issue that will require a more detailed look at it in the future.''**_

Sandalphon turned his head towards Akira.

''_**Be wary, Contractor. Thy fate and that of many others in all worlds may collide sooner or later.''**_

The angel vanished, and as soon he did, a sharp pain ran through Akira's body. He clutched his head, not used to the sudden taxation. Asia almost jumped out of bed, but he already seemed to have recovered. Perhaps this was a side effect of summoning a Persona in the real world, which was something he did not know he could do before.

''That…'' Asia started. She looked at Akira, seemingly in distress, but then burst out in a fit of cheering.

''Was so cool! Are you a special member of the church? A saint? No,'' Asia gasped, ''maybe you're an angel yourself!''

He smiled as Asia bounced around him, shouting strange questions and remarks every other second. Even in his tired state, the happiness he brought others could keep him going. He was brought out of his happy stupor when his phone suddenly buzzed.

A text. From Rias.

''_Are you okay? I sensed a massive holy energy signature around the area where you live. I'm coming right over!''_

Uh oh.

* * *

Her heart was trembling.

Rias sat in the dressing room. In a few minutes she'd have to come out, and see whether all the effort she and Akira had put in had worked. Riser was to hold a grand speech in front of various high-class devils, his peerage and her own. She had overheard some small talk of Riser not leaving his room until today, and it gave her a bit of hope. But in the end, she could only wait and see, even with all the other things going on.

There was still Akira himself to worry about. A few days earlier she had rushed over to his place, fearing some kind of angel had assaulted him. All she found was him nursing some unknown girl. Her suspicions were growing, but he had played everything off. ''You must have made a mistake with your sensing,'' he had told her. As if she would. Kuoh was her territory. She'd know if something was wrong.

The girl in question had turned out to be a banished nun. Rias wanted to argue that it would not be safe for Akira to keep her around, and that they should relocate her to a safer place, but Akira was dead set on taking care of her. She did not go against it, and now Asia Argento was enrolled into Kuoh Academy as a second year student. Conveniently, she ended up in Yuuto's class, so they could keep an eye out for her if the situation called for it. It turned out she had a rare Sacred Gear, and having that on her side would be very handy in the future. Perhaps she would offer the girl a spot in her peerage once this was over.

And then there was Akira.

The travelling between worlds and changing of hearts seemed like almost a hobby to him. His face rarely showed a lot of expression, but the words that came out of his mouth formed a myriad of emotion. He always made sense, even if he did it. He never lost his cool, but his words always lit a fire in her heart. In the brief two and a half weeks that had passed, they had been through a lot together, but yet she knew very little about him. Who he was, where he came from, how he got his strange powers in the first place… He was a true enigma.

Even with his mysterious powers of calling forth angels and devils, she was worried about him too. Many devils would _kill_ to have someone with an ability like that on their side. And she figured some would act on it once they found out about Akira's existence. It was a hidden danger. He might not realize now, but if his existence were to be revealed, peerage offers would pop up left and right. If he was with her, that risk would be eliminated. But would it be worth it? Could they keep up their secret about the Metaverse if he was part of her peerage? Would he want to be part of her peerage?

''You seem nervous.''

At this point, Rias wouldn't even get startled anymore. She watched as Grayfia entered the room and waited until Grayfia stood in front of her.

''Not at all,'' Rias answered, her voice void of any hostility, ''how is _he_?''

She could not hide the venom in her tone at the end of her sentence. Grayfia did not react, as always. ''Riser is doing fine,'' Grayfia answered, ''that little card that was passed on did cause a slight security spike around the Phenix estate, but nothing ended up happening. It was probably a poorly timed prank.''

Rias hoped it wasn't.

''Anyway, it's not something you should be worrying about,'' Grayfia said as she knelt down to fiddle with Rias's dress, ''especially not at this time. Your brother would be very disappointed if he sees you walking out with a frown.

''Oh, I'm expected to come out cheering and grinning now? How about I do a little dance while we're at it?'' Rias scoffed, only half serious. Grayfia let a small smile form on her face.

''Don't be so negative. I'm sure you'll be fine,'' Grayfia said softly, ''you know your brother is-''

''A Satan and can't do anything about the situation. Yeah, I've heard that a couple of times now,'' Rias remarked, ''I can handle it, Grayfia. This whole thing was accepted a while ago.''

Rias stood up from her chair and brushed off her dress. ''Well, shall we go then?'' she asked Grayfia, who nodded in response. The two of them left the dressing room and entered the large hall.

Hundreds of devils stood around the decorated tables. Drinks and food were passed around, and every single posh looking aristocrat looked like they were having a great time. She caught a glimpse of her peerage as she walked up the platform, and they all stared at her with worried eyes and compassionate smiles. Her brother was present too, standing on a little platform of his own, but he refused to meet her gaze. Even though she was still angry about it, she knew this was very hard for him too. If he was still just the heir to their family, a couple bodies would've already vanished by this point. The fact that he was an absolute siscon didn't help either.

The moment Rias stepped onto the centre stage, all the attention turned towards her. Whistles and cheers greeted her, which she chose to ignore. The audience clapped and muttered amongst itself as she stood there, waiting.

Riser was not there.

Minutes passed, and the excited muttering among the crowd turned into frustrated whispering. The attendants started stressing as chaos started brewing because of the missing groom.

Then the doors opened. And the sight was rather pitiful.

Riser did not follow the dress code of the party very well. His suit was sloppy, his hair was a mess and the look in his eyes indicated he hadn't slept for a while. He shuffled over towards the centre stage at a snail's pace, a wave of silence washing over the crowd as they looked at Riser. He climbed up on the stage, almost slipping a couple times. He didn't _dare_ to look at Rias. As he stood in position, he looked over the crowd.

''Ladies and gentlemen,'' Riser choked out. His voice cracked and it looked like he was about to break down. ''Today is a most cheerful day. Or at least, it was supposed to be.''

More whispers erupted along the crowd. Confusion, surprise, panic from certain sides. Riser did not seem to mind, as he continued his speech.

''What was supposed to be a union for people that harbored special feelings for each other, became an agreement between two Pillars in order to gain power,'' Riser continued, now sobbing halfway through, ''I was blinded by my desire for a woman's flesh, so blinded that if this marriage would go on, I would do things most unbecoming of a high-class devil…''

Now Riser had fallen onto his knees, and the crowd erupted in chaos. He bawled as he slammed his fists on the ground, angry with himself.

''We've been trying our best to move on from the shadows our predecessors cast upon us,'' Riser sobbed, ''but I've lived with Lucifer's pride and Asmodeus' lust. I don't wish to continue like this or make anyone else suffer because of my outrageous behaviour! That's why the marriage will be called off!''

Rias could only stare as the attendants rushed over to get the bawling Riser out of here. The crowd was now the embodiment of gossip, and she caught her brother staring with a mixed expression of relief and confusion. Rias knew one thing for sure though.

She would never doubt Akira again.

* * *

**Well, well, well. I wanted to get this chapter out earlier, but I really wanted to get the two Riser scenes done properly. And here's the finished product. I unfortunately did not get much time to proofread this, so if you see a couple spelling errors (more than usual at least haha), I apologize.**

**Things are starting to pick up a bit. Akira is starting to manifest his Persona powers into the real world, and now Asia is getting mixed up into all this business as well. Canon starts taking a real shift from this point on, so don't go expecting any holy sword or Kokabiel related business next chapter.**

**So far, I'm really content with this story and from the feedback I've gotten from you guys (thanks a lot from that btw), you all seem to be having a great time too. I graduated from college and have a long, free summer ahead of me, so lots of chapters can be expected. I hope you all stick with me until the end of this wild ride.**

**That's all for this author's note. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter a lot. Please leave me a review with your thoughts, have an amazing day and I'll see you guys next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

''Oh! This is delicious!''

''I agree.''

It was time for a celebration.

The news of Riser's breakdown had spread like fire throughout the Underworld. Drama revolving around a marriage between two prestigious houses was nothing out of the ordinary, but this was perhaps the first time in history something like this happened. Gossip and speculation was the main product that was being passed around the Underworld for the last few days, and the devils all ate it up like hungry peasants.

Now he and Rias sat in the shining spring sun, enjoying some ice cream. The options Kuoh offered for celebratory activities were rather limited in comparison to the busy city of Tokyo, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. It meant less complaining about fatty tuna for him.

He felt happy about their success. Rias was now liberated from her shackles and it was one less Palace to worry about. But it made him wonder how much still was to come. Riser's change of heart was an achievement for him and Rias, but made very little difference in the grand scheme of things. In his world they had worked themselves up to progressively tougher and more influential targets, to the point where they were deciding the fate of the entire country. He had no idea whose heart he'd have to change to have such an impact on the Underworld. In fact, he knew very little about the Underworld at all.

''So, how's Asia been doing?'' Rias asked, dragging him out of his thoughts. He took a quick bite of his ice cream to recompose himself before answering.

''She's doing fine,'' was his short answer. He had a feeling Rias would push the issue of her staying at his tiny apartment once again. Whether it was to take pressure of him or for another purpose, he did not know.

''I understand that you want to take care of it yourself, but you don't have to push it,'' Rias said softly, ''if it gets too difficult, I can find her a new place in no time.''

Akira smiled. ''Aren't we supposed to be celebrating?''

Rias chuckled and gave in. ''Of course. That's what we're here for after all. Which flavor is that by the way? Can I try?''

They continued to frolic about. His worries and thoughts about the future faded away as they enjoyed their food and the spring weather. Their small talk strayed from any serious issues, and they discussed simple topics such as school instead. Until Rias brought up a very interesting question.

''Say, Akira,'' Rias started, ''what do you think about devils?''

An interesting question indeed.

''You just seem like humans to me,'' Akira answered as he took another bite of his ice cream, ''humans with more magic and wings, I suppose.''

Well, perhaps devils were a tad different. But from what he had seen so far, they seemed to be way closer to humans than most thought. Both races had their desires running rampant apparently, and that was enough of a similarity for him.

Rias nodded and stared down at her lap. He glanced at her. If she was looking like that, he knew the conversation was about to take a more serious turn once again.

''I'm going to give it you straight, Akira. I want to offer you a spot in my peerage.''

''Apologies, I'll have to decline.''

Rias's deflated look did not change his final choice.

He had expected her to approach him with this question in mind at some point. He had thought and pondered. While the idea of devilhood was not the factor that turned him off _perse_, it would overcomplicate things. The two of them had already decided that their ventures into the Metaverse would become a serious business. Having both of them sneak off from the rest of the peerage constantly would give birth to a ton of other issues. He didn't want to give Rias any more trouble. And he himself wanted to avoid trouble. For as long as possible, at least.

And then there were the countless holy beings inside of his heart. Protests were to be expected if he considered ''turning to the dark side''. He did not want to deal with that.

The mood had obviously been soured, so he stood up to leave. ''Thanks for the food. I'll text you later.''

Rias nodded once again. In the gleam of her eyes, he could see that this wouldn't be the last time she'd ask about becoming part of her peerage. Her newfound determination after going through the Metaverse was both an admirable and annoying quality at times.

He walked back towards his apartment, enjoying the sight of the blooming cherry blossoms and the touch of the gentle sun along his way. Days like these made him thankful of not having school, even if studying was a breeze from him.

He soon reached his apartment. As he fiddled with his keys, he noticed that the lock was a bit tougher to open than usual. Maybe it was time to replace some things, the place was really old after all.

The stairs creaked as he walked up to his room. He opened the door, and was greeted by the pleasant sight of a napping Asia. She had not even changed from her school uniform but she had already collapsed on what was formerly considered his bed. He smiled at her sleeping form. Even though they weren't very close — considering they had only met a few days ago — he still felt some urge to protect her. Seeing her like this comforted him.

What was not comforting in the least was the man sitting on his windowsill.

The man, who for some reason really reminded him of the man in the black room, gave him a two finger salute.

''Yo,'' greeted the man, acting like it was completely normal to break into someone's house.

''Usually people come in from the front door,'' Akira commented. The man didn't seem hostile, but he could never be sure. Anyone who'd break in was suspicious. The man in response let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of his head.

''Well, I realized trying to force myself in from the front in broad daylight wasn't the smartest idea. Hence, I took another way around. Don't worry, the window's still fine… I think.''

Akira sighed. ''Who are you and why are you here?''

''Oh, how rude of me,'' the man muttered, ''the name's Azazel kid. And why I've come here, well, most would be interested in mass holy energy that flared up out of nowhere.'' Azazel glanced at the sleeping Asia. ''When I got here, I was quite surprised to find the girl, but I figured there was more to it. I hope it was worth the wait.''

Thanks Sandalphon. It turned out more people than just Rias noticed.

''I'm not sure what you want from me,'' Akira said with narrowed eyes. Azazel smiled with a gleam in his eyes.

''I'm a man of knowledge. A researcher, a scientist, an inventor, you name it. When something grasps my attention, I _need_ to know more. Surely, there are things you want too. I think a mutual agreement would benefit us both, wouldn't you agree?''

This was too sudden. Too vague. Someone who's an absolute stranger rocks up in his house and wants to strike a deal. Then again, he had seen stranger things before.

''We've just met,'' Akira said, ''I don't know whether I can trust you. You don't know if you can trust me. We both want very different things. I'm not sure how you envisioned this working out.''

Azazel kept on smiling. ''Sometimes a shot in the dark is a gateway to newfound light. If I wished to harm you, I would've done so. And besides, there's no telling who else noticed whatever caused that spark of holy power. What are you gonna do when another visitor drops by, one that's less nice?''

''This is starting to sound more like blackmail than an agreement to me.''

''Oh no,'' Azazel said hurriedly as he shook his head, ''I certainly didn't mean to put any pressure on you. I just wanna say that I can provide protection against peering eyes. Many things are watching, even if you do not see them. Anyway, consider dropping by me later. I'll be at the lake in the evening.'' Azazel smile took on a more mischievous shape. ''I hope we'll get to cooperate.''

With that final statement, Azazel vanished, letting the sun shine through Akira's window again. Akira could do nothing but sigh again.

As Ryuji might've put it, he was getting himself into some deep shit.

* * *

He wasn't sure why he had come.

The lake was nice. The trees complimented the scenery. The star filled sky was breathtaking. What took away from all these factors was Azazel's constant cursing in the background.

''Darn fish! Would ya keep your mouth around the hook for a damn second?! I didn't go through a millenia lasting war just to be bested my some carp from a local pond!''

Akira had already sighed many times this day, and he feared there was no end to the amount of sighs that would leave his mouth. Azazel had struck him as an intelligent but carefree person, but as Akira saw more and more of him the carefree part became more apparent while the intelligence was nowhere to be found.

But appearances were deceiving, that was something he knew all too well. It was very well possible that Azazel had the most cunning plans in history up his sleeve.

Not that he was actually expecting that.

''Just like with almost anything, there's good days and bad days when you go out fishing,'' Azazel said with a hearty laugh, ''before we get into the serious stuff though. I'd like you to do a little something for me.''

Azazel set down his rod and stood up from his chair. He fiddled around in his pockets and pulled something out of them, and handed to it Akira. A couple shiny orbs with small, sharp spikes sticking out of it was what he got.

''Doesn't look like fishing bait to me,'' Akira remarked.

Azazel snorted. ''You've got some keen eyes there. They're set ups for a barrier. Scatter them around the place and no one will notice if we happen to blow something up.''

Akira did as told, and threw the orbs around the area. After all of them hit the ground, a thin barrier surrounded him and Azazel. It flashed a light blue color for a brief moment before disappearing. Azazel clapped his hands together and marched away from Akira. Once there was some distance between them, Azazel stopped and turned back towards Akira, a giddy smile on his face. He spread his arms in an almost expectant manner.

''Now, show me.''

A silence dawned over the lake and its surroundings.

''Show.. what?'' Akira asked in a somewhat awkward fashion.

''What do you mean what? Your power, kid, your power!'' Azazel shouted. ''You're acting like all the energy you let out last time was a damn fart or something! I know it's not a Sacred Gear, I don't know of any type of spell that does that either, so if you'd be so kind, show it! That's what we came here for right?''

''Oh yes, of course. But there's a slight problem with that…''

Akira let out a sheepish chuckle.

''I can't _use_ it at the moment.''

What was he supposed to say otherwise? He couldn't spill every little detail about Personas and the Metaverse. Just because he made deal didn't mean he was obliged to tell Azazel everything.

Azazel stared at Akira with blank eyes, as if all his hopes and dreams had been crushed in a mere second. He clicked his tongue and rubbed his eyes in frustration.

''You know, I'm not even gonna question it. Like I said before, I don't know anything about your power, so I'll just take your word it,'' Azazel sighed, ''sit down kid, I guess it's time for me to explain my part of this whole time.''

The two of them sat down on the chairs, and Azazel retrieved his fishing rod. ''I think you know about the whole supernatural boogaloo, so I'm not gonna go into that,'' Azazel said, ''I'm a fallen angel. Together with a few other… compatriots of mine, we've set up this organization that consists of the fallen. Mainly to keep a bit of order among a race where most turn into rogues and vagabonds. Now, I assume you have heard about that thing that happened to one of those kids from your school?''

Akira nodded. Issei Hyoudou. Rias had told him that the boy had turned out to possess one of those Sacred Gear things, how important was in the grand scheme of things though was unknown to him.

''So before all of that happened, I sent a team to look after that kid,'' Azazel continued, ''though they unfortunately got tangled up with their own business. They started hanging around some church or something. I'm not one to initiate drama and conflict, there's plenty of that in this world already, but I'm pretty much at the end of my wits here. You see, one member of the team apparently got struck by something similar to what happened to that kid from your school, and the remaining members have vanished off the radar.''

This got Akira's attention. Another case of a mental shutdown was _not_ a good thing. The connection between the two incidents was rather vague though. A boy with a special artifact and a fallen angel. In whatever world he was in, there was always a maniac behind these things. The detail about the church didn't help either, as he know had a fairly

"With my team in this area gone, incoming intel has come to a halt. I can't just send more people out; this is devil territory and what I can do is limited without causing a ruckus."

"Is this where I come in?" Akira asked.

Azazel smiled and nodded. "Indeed. I'm just gonna need you to do a couple errands, basically. You do some work for me in the area to replace my lost team, and I keep you safe and provide some of my exclusive special services. With whatever your power is, you should be able to do it."

"You haven't seen what it does, yet you trust it," Akira said. He was truly confused. Azazel was nowhere near as straightforward as he had thought he would be.

"Call it a gut feeling. Intuition. A scientist goes into research with a hypothesis, not a result. And besides-"

Azazel was cut off by the sudden shaking of his fishing rod. It looked like a literal tremor was going through the thing. It did not surprise Azazel whatsoever, he just went in to pull in the catch. The water splashed and crashed around and it looked like Azazel was using some otherworldly strength to reel whatever monster he caught in. The fishing rod looked like it was about to snap in half, yet Azazel pulled through, veins of determination bulging on his forehead. Eventually, the catch emerged from the depths.

A small, golden looking fish dangled off the hook. Azazel slowly turned his head towards Akira, a blank look on his face.

''I don't think this will be enough to eat for the two of us.''

A jolly cooperation it would be indeed.

* * *

A week or so had passed. Life seemed to have fallen into the same monotonous steps once more. He went to school, walked home alone or with Asia, did some homework, and the process would repeat itself the following day. He and Rias had not visited the Metaverse again ever since Riser's Palace fell, and a new target was still out of sight. The issue had been brought up, but Rias told him that she didn't know any other devil who could have a Palace. It was to be expected. The nature of devils made them naturally open in their desires, and to see whether someone had something more twisted to hide required some insight. There was nothing like Mementos around either — not that he knew of at least — so tackling smaller targets was not option

Thus a more practical approach had to be taken.

He and Rias had been wandering the streets for a while, only accompanied by the spring breeze. The previous access point to the Metaverse at the park had disappeared, most likely in correlation to the collapse of Riser's Palace. Seems like the Nav still somewhat functioned like it did back in his world, even with the new features. He sighed as they continued their search. Things could never be easy.

''We're not gonna find _anything_ like this,'' Rias huffed as she dragged her feet along the pavement, ''isn't there an easier way to do this?''

''No easier way without a target,'' Akira replied, his words alone making Rias even look more tired. It was just the reality of it. Without any keywords, searching for a distortion was like looking for the needle in the haystack. Last time he had found an accessway where Issei's mental shutdown had happened. The only other case was one of Azazel's subordinates...

Wait.

Azazel's subordinate had a mental shutdown. And their group used to stick around the church.

''Rias, let's go.''

''Akira? Hey, wait up!''

He picked up the pace, and rushed over to the church, with Rias chasing after him. Eventually she caught up as they arrived, and from the look on her face it seemed like she was about to give him a scolding. She didn't get the chance though, as the loud buzzing from their phones seized their attention.

''Distortion detected. Please ascend or descend.''

The two stairs rolled out, one digging itself into the ground beneath the church, leading to the Underworld, the other rolling out far over the roof of the building, reaching for the heaven. Looks like they had found a way in. He turned towards Rias with something what resembled a small smirk playing on his lips. Rias in turn sighed and crossed her arms.

''You always think you're right,'' she huffed.

He kept on smirking. ''I can't argue with facts.''

The two of them got closer to the staircases. He caught Rias staring intently at the stairway that led up to the sky. No doubt she too wished to unravel the mystery that was hidden up in the skies. He had the suspicion that they both very well knew what was up there, they just didn't know whether it was smart to go there.

''Do you think a place like that would have Palaces?'' Rias asked, and it came out more like a whisper.

If the Nav showed it, it had to be the case. What the nature behind it was remained a mystery as well though. Anything related to cognition was never as simple as it seemed.

''I don't see why it would be out of question,'' he answered.

Rias smiled softly.

''Because then there'd be no one left up there.''

A very fair point.

''We'll just keep going to the Underworld for now then,'' Akira said, ''there's no point in discussing this at the moment. And besides, you wouldn't be able to serve as a guide up there.''

Rias laughed a bit, and they soon went down into hell. Literally.

''Say, Rias,'' Akira started, ''do you dislike the other races.?''

He already knew the answer, but it was something that popped up into his mind. The supernatural had such a rich history to it, and if he was to steal the hearts of these beings, he'd better know more. Just because they looked human didn't mean their train of thought was always similar.

''Dislike? No, not really,'' she said, and then flashed him a playful smile, ''you didn't think I was like those pure blood obsessed devils now, right? Perhaps it is because I was born in this rather peaceful era, were conflict between the three factions has been minimal. Not that I would be someone to judge an individual based on something they have no control over, even if I was born during that time. I never got to experience the conflict the older generations experienced. The war brew a concoction of hatred that people are still drinking from.''

The Great War. A phenomenon he had heard her talk about it before, and Azazel had mentioned it too. Maybe he could get a short history lesson while they were heading down.

''Tell me more about the war.''

Rias giggled. ''My, my. With this knowledge, you'd be as good as ready to be a new devil.'' He ignored the subtle undertone in her message. ''The Great War was a terrible conflict that happened several millennia ago, The three factions — the angels, devils and fallen angels — waged a war. There's a large dispute over who actually started it, but the general consensus is that the the leaders of the devils, the Four Great Satans, fired the first shot. Like with any war, there were only losers. We lost our leaders, the angels and fallen lost important figures as well, and the general casualties were near immeasurable."

Rias glanced downwards, checking whether the exist was close or not. It wasn't.

"Like I told you that one time at your place, we devils came up with the Evil Piece system to rekindle our ranks. Though we first had to go through a civil war to get that system in place, which costed us many more lives. The fallen and their… lustful tendencies would birth new kin. Heaven was locked out of both options. Nowadays the factions all just breathe down each others necks, not in a state of war but neither in one of peace."

Very interesting. He wondered how their changing of hearts could help with things like this. Maybe he was finally getting a glimpse of the greater good he was supposed to do.

"We're here," he said as they stepped out and stood on the familiar cliff once more. Their clothes burned and were replaced by their thief outfits, the true indicators of their rebelliousness. The purple sky shone above them, and they investigated the vast lands before them, searching for new places to rob.

Where Riser's temple once stood was now a barren wasteland, devoid of any life. Across the rocky ground rain shining cracks, almost like veins. There weren't any other structures nearby, so finding a new Palace would require some traveling.

"Uhm, Akira," Rias murmured as she tapped him on the shoulder, "that building looks a bit out of place."

She pointed him toward the left, and there it stood. A gigantic, humongous, life sized…

"Doll house?"

It _really_ was out of place. The bright, childish colors that adorned its walls made for a stark contrast in comparison to the rest of the Underworld. It looked almost like some child had left their toy here, and it had adopted gigantic proportions. There was a fair distance between them and the house though, a distance he didn't feel like walking. His eyes were drawn towards the large rocks that were scattered along the path towards the house, and an idea popped up in his head.

"Rias, hold on to me."

A light blush appeared on Rias's beautiful face.

"W-what? Why?"

"Trust me on this one."

Without any further word, Rias wrapped her arms around his waist. While her way of holding onto him and the sensation it brought along with it was a bit strange, he was focused on the nearest rock. He extended his arm, and a grappling hook shot out of his sleeve, dragging him and Rias through the air.

He had to thank Azazel later.

* * *

The place creeped them out.

The inside of the house was decorated in a very regal and elegant fashion. It looked like some eighteenth century king was in charge here. A large open hallway, led to a set of golden stairs that would bring them to the next floor. The elegance had some disturbing touches to it though, mainly the dragon heads set up on the walls and the countless girls walking around.

They were more like dolls. Every single one of them had an unique face, but they all shared the same hollow eyes. Like all that was good in their lives had been taken from them, they wandered seemingly without aim. They all wore what looked to be a maid uniform, but the uniforms were decorated with large crosses, giving the girls a holy vibe. The two of them were ignored by each one that passed them, like the living separated from the ghosts of the dead.

"They don't look like shadows," Rias said as she looked around with discomfort evident in her eyes.

"It's because they're not," Akira muttered. Cognitive interpretations they were. Whoever could come up with such an image in their mind was bound to be twisted.

"It seems we have visitors."

One of the dolls spoke up, her voice missing any emotion. All the dolls turned around and stared at Rias and Akira. Their mouths did not move, yet they could hear them whisper soft words of anguish, like a dying breath.

_"It hurts. It hurts so much."_

_"Please make it stop."_

_"Save us. Please help."_

Their muttered pleas assaulted them, and it had far more an impact with the emotionless faces of the dolls. They could not express their suffering, but now they knew that the dolls were in fact hurting. Rias bit her lip, looking like this scene had definitely affected her.

"Visitors, you say?" a new voice rang out. "You should've told me sooner."

Akira and Rias turned towards the direction of the voice. A young man stood on the stairs in front of them. He looked to be their age, perhaps a tad older. His attire consisted of a long blue waistcoat, heeled shoes and a white wig. Truly a classical aristocrat. His eyes were shut tight and his lips took on the form of a smile, though the smile was much like the dolls.

Hollow.

"And they are truly interesting visitors indeed," the man cooed, "how delightful. Greetings, fellow Satan sibling and her compatriot."

"Satan sibling," Rias repeated. Her eyes soon widened in realization. "Wait, are you Ajuka's brother?"

"Diodora Astaroth," Diodora introduced himself with a bow, "a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh, Rias Gremory. Welcome to my little paradise."

"For a paradise, the people here sure don't seem happy," Akira said, sarcasm dripping off his voice. Diodora kept on smiling his creepy smile. Even though the devil did not seem to mind, Rias and Akira got in position to fight, just in case.

"Their happiness comes from serving me," he replied. Diodora's eyes opened slightly, and a wicked yellow shone through. "They are my toys. I obtained them, hence they are mine to do whatever I want with. Sometimes they don't want to play, and I have to push them in the right direction. A little pulling at the arm, a twist of the neck…" Diodora shuddered in delight. "Do it too often though, and their soft little voices will become muffled. Their eyes lose their brightness. Even if they don't respond when I play with them, I can still keep them around. The ones standing around you two are more like collector's items, so to say."

Diodora's face had now fully devolved into a manic grin.

"I still like them more when they keep screaming."

"You… you monster!" Rias shouted.

"Come on now. I've gotten the permission," Diodora said with a mocking smile, "most of them were revived as devils in my peerage after all. They're my property. It's slavery in its purest form, and you should know it too, Gremory. Considering all the people you've recruited. Did their sob stories all amuse you?"

"I saved their lives," Rias growled, and Akira was almost surprised by how dangerous she sounded, "I gave them a home when they lacked one. You probably ripped these girls from their perfectly fine lives, and forced them into doing your bidding. All you've accomplished with this is the tarnishing of your image, your house's, and that of your brother."

Now that seemed to have pushed Diodora's buttons, as he sneered at Rias with a look that could kill.

"Shut your filthy mouth, whore! You'd know very little about hardships when your brother is constantly there to coddle you," Diodora chuckled to himself, and placed a hand on his face, "oh, what does it matter? This is my domain. Everyone who walks these halls is my floors. I'm sure you two will make amazing models, if not good replacement parts."

Shadows popped up and surrounded Akira and Rias, ready to carry out Diodora's orders. Rias looked ready to fight, but Akira just shook his head.

Oh well, at least they had a target.

* * *

The Occult Research Club room was surprisingly quiet at night. Maybe because he and Rias were the only ones there.

Escaping the Metaverse had not been a problem like always. The real struggle was calming the raging Rias. She had gotten _really_ upset over Diodora's antics in the Palace, it was almost like she had heard she was about to get married off again.

"That little.." Rias hissed as she clenched her fists. It looked like she was using all her might to restrain herself from going on a tirade.

"So much to ruin the composure of the Great Lady of Kuoh," Akira joked with a small smile, "you didn't even offer me tea when we got here."

Rias let out a deep breath and leaned back into the couch. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe someone would be able to piss me off more than Riser. Looks like the Metaverse really has some things in store for us."

If only she knew.

"So, about this Diodora guy…"

"I don't know too much about him.," Rias interjected, noticing where Akira was going, "he's the little brother of Ajuka Beelzebub, a Satan just like my brother."

"You never told me your brother was such a big deal," Akira said. Rias huffed a bit and looked away.

"It's not like the situation called for it. Ajuka is probably even more famous than my brother; he's the one who invented the Evil Pieces after all. I guess Diodora got a couple issues from being in his brother's shadow, but it looks like that's not his only problem."

"It definitely isn't," Akira agreed, "maybe he'll target even more girls. We can't let that happen. I propose we'll make him our next target."

Rias flashed him a triumphant smile. "As if I wasn't already set on changing his heart after all of that. It's decided!"

He smiled and nodded. First had been Riser, who bore a striking resemblance to Kamoshida. He wondered how many similarities he would spot between Diodora and Madarame.

Then there was another thing he had to consider. The impact the change of heart would have. He had to admit, he knew very little of the inner workings of the devil world. If Diodora's change of heart would cause a huge uproar, he'd better know beforehand.

"Rias, would it be possible for you to look into more detail about Diodora?" Akira asked.

Rias hummed and nodded. "Sure. I don't know much about him myself either, and know thy enemy and all that I suppose. There's a trip to the Underworld planned for myself and my peerage. That'll give me a chance to do some research. Speaking of which…"

She looked him straight in the eyes, a sign of seriousness.

"I want you to come along."

Oh. She looked serious, but he didn't know if he wanted to take her seriously.

He smiled a bit. "Is this another attempt to make me join your peerage?"

"Perhaps," Rias folded her arms and crossed her legs, "but there's more to it than that. I'm tired of hiding things from my peerage. While I know we can't spill the heart changing business, I'd at least want them to know that I've been interacting with you, and your powers. We could all learn from it, and I'm sure they can teach you many things too. "

"Rias, I'm not sure if that's a good-"

"Please," she almost pleaded, "I don't want to put us at risk but I don't want to cause a rift between them and myself either."

He still was convinced it wasn't a good idea. Revealing his powers could draw too much attention, and he didn't know who else had already noticed besides Azazel. It would also put Rias's entire peerage at risk of getting dragged into the whole Metaverse deal, which was another thing he had originally hoped to avoid.

"I… I'll think about it."

Rias smiled at him.

"Thank you."

The sincerity in her tone made him feel strange, to say the least.

"It's getting dark outside now, I should probably start heading back," he said as he stood up from the couch, "Asia might be getting worried too if I say out too late."

Rias giggled slightly. "Of course, she has all right to be worried. We should both take it easy for now, if Diodora is going to be anything like Riser."

"Who knows, he might even be worse," Akira chuckled, "good night, Rias."

"Good night, Akira."

With that he strolled out of the building and into the sparkling moonlight. He did not see Rias staring at him out of the window, her gaze fixated on him until he would disappear behind the trees.

All he knew was that a new mission had started.

* * *

Vali Lucifer considered himself a busy man.

He was a warrior, trying to scavenge the world for new challenges, and each new one would have to surpass the ones he had faced before. He was a double agent, serving as a pupil for the leader of the Grigori during the day, leader of a Khaos Brigade team at night.

But most of all, he was annoyed.

Annoyed that his greatest challenge so far had been snatched away from him. Annoyed that his so called fate had been twisted and delayed. And he wouldn't stand for it.

He flew through the midnight sky of Kuoh, all the houses below him seemed like tiny dots in a large field. He was not looking for a house though. The hospital was what he needed.

Soon the large white building came into sight, and he dove down towards it. Scanning for open windows, he flew through the nearest one, and soon found himself in one of the halls of the hospital.

"Now, let's see," Vali muttered, "room two hundred and twenty one…"

He walked through the halls, not wanting to rush things but wary of any nurses or doctors around as well. Sneaking off like this was not something he enjoyed, mainly because of the complaints he'd be getting. Azazel would be annoying him for the whole day, and his team would most likely scold him.

Bunch of loveable bastards.

"Ah, here it is."

A single flick of his wrist was all it took to open the lock. A single bed hospital room, plenty of privacy. And in that one bed, he laid.

His _rival_.

The brown haired boy was attached to all kinds of machines, with both oxygen and blood being supplied. His breathing was shaky, but stable. The machines around him beeped and booped with every heartbeat.

"Well, Issei-kun," Vali muttered as he approached the bed and looked down on Issei's body. Frail. Broken. Defenseless.

"It's a cruel world. One where the strong devour the weak."

* * *

First** of all, apologies for the late release of this chapter. I've been having some issues with my internet, and the heat isn't exactly helping me with concentrating on anything. Secondly, this chapter had a severe lack of proofreading once again. I just wanted to get this out there at this point.**

**So the next up in line is Diodora, who gets into the spotlight a bit earlier than in canon. Akira also got a deal with Azazel, more details on that in following chapters. All I can say is that Azazel will be like the Iwai of this world. The last scene with Vali is to be interpreted as you guys will, haha.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this long awaited chapter. Please let me know your thoughts and I'll see you guys soon.**


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